Anyone who has been the victim of a ransomware attack or who has lost their data due to an equipment failure can tell you that the most expensive and time consuming part of the ordeal involved data recovery and reconstruction.
Now that companies increasingly move toward paperless systems, loss of data can make reconstruction impossible when access to digital records is no longer possible.
Here are three things you can do to facilitate data recovery in the event of a cyber-attack or equipment breakdown that will help save time and money.
Back up data to a remote server or cloud provider
First, back up your data off site. There are several cloud providers that back up your data on servers remotely. When choosing a service, it’s important to consider how the data is backed up: is the service backing up your files or your entire system?
If the service only backs up your files, and if you need to restore your system, you will need to reinstall software, including your operating system.
When choosing a cloud provider, research their record for security. Cloud providers have been breached and are rich targets for hackers. Read reviews, especially those written by security researchers.
Back up data to a removable device
Recent ransomware attacks have encrypted not only the targeted systems, but also cloud backups, so it’s essential to have a contingency.
Back up data periodically to a removable device as well. The important consideration here is to ensure that the backup is conducted periodically and that the device is not always connected to your system. The value of disconnecting the backup lies in it not being vulnerable to attack when your system is targeted.
Your removable backup should be encrypted and password protected. These protections are critical because the data is portable and can be easily taken off site or lost.
Finally, store your removable back up in a secure off-site location. In case of fire, flood or other disaster, your data has a better chance of surviving.
Train Your Employees
Employees are often the weakest link in data security for businesses. Most breaches can be tracked back to an accidental mistake, rather than intentional sabotage or theft. Employees may lack training in how to select strong passwords, when to encrypt data, and how to avoid malware.
Training your employees should never begin and end at orientation. To ensure your company’s data will remain safe form cyber threats and data breaches, proper training must be updated and repeated regularly.
Conclusion
By being prepared for a possible breach today, you can ensure that your data recovery time will be as minimal as possible. This way, you can get back to business as usual much quicker, and limit the amount of potential revenue you could lose as a result of a lengthy data recovery turn around.
