With cyber-attacks increasing in intensity and scope year after year, it’s becoming more important than ever that companies make sure that their data is well protected. One type of attack, ransomware, has been making headlines day after day, with WannaCry being one of the more recent outbreaks. If a company is unfortunate enough to be infected by ransomware, it’s possible that the encrypted data could be lost forever. That is, unless there’s a proper backup solution in place.
The 3-2-1 Rule
To implement a solid backup solution, follow the 3-2-1 rule:
- Have at least 3 different copies of the data
- Store the data in at least 2 different formats
- Keep at least 1 copy of the data at an offsite location
An example of 3-2-1 rule would be:
- One copy stored locally on a server for everyday use
- One copy stored locally on an external drive, such as a NAS
- One copy stored offsite, using a cloud backup solution
As seen, there are 3 different copies of the data, in 2 different formats (onsite hard drives and a cloud backup), and 1 offsite cloud backup.
When choosing a backup solution, there are many different factors to consider. Here are a few simple questions you should be asking:
- How much data do I have to back up?
- What data should I be backing up?
- How often should be backing up? Once a day? Five times a day?
- Is the backed-up data encrypted? What type of encryption?
Whether it’s ransomware, hardware failure, or an employee accidentally deleting a file, it’s important to always have a backup solution in place. If a company loses access to their information, they also lose valuable time during the recovery process and well as a loss in productivity. By having proper backups, a business can get back on its’ feet within a fraction of the time than if they had no backup.
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