World Backup Day 2018
World Backup Day is an event on the technology calendar setup to raise awareness and to remind us all about the importance of backing up our data. Everyone of us knows why we need to backup. The reality is that many businesses do not have a reliable backup system in place that is sufficient to be able to recover their data in a disaster.
What would you do if you lost everything?
Or, what would your business do? With 40% of all UK businesses suffering a cyber attack in the past 12 months, the threat of data loss is significant. However, hardware failures and human error continue to be the leading causes of data loss. The only way to ensure your business can recover, and continue to trade, is by ensuring you have a robust backup plan.
So let’s define exactly what backup is (and isn’t).
“Backup is when you have a second copy of your data stored in another location, in case the original is lost or damaged”
Backup is NOT storing your data in Dropbox.
It is also not copying the data to an external driver that is permanently connected to your PC.
What are the methods of backing up?
You can choose to backup your data to another local source. An external hard drive that is then removed and stored securely offsite. You can also opt to backup to the Cloud.
As always there are pros and cons, so let’s take a look:
Local Backup
+ Cheap, with no ongoing monthly costs
+ Loads of storage
+ Fast to recover
+ Loads of storage
+ Fast to recover
– Relies on humans
– Backup drive can be lost, stolen, or become corrupted
– Backup drive could also be damaged in a disaster (building fire or flood)
Cloud (online) Backup
+ Accessible anytime, anywhere
+ Offsite all the time
+ Automatic – no human input needed
+ Scalable
+ Offsite all the time
+ Automatic – no human input needed
+ Scalable
– Has ongoing costs
– Slower to recover
Some things to ask yourself…
- What important data does my business store?
- Are we backing up all our data or only key parts?
- What would be the impact of a major data loss for 1 day? (loss of sales, cost of staff, rent etc)
- How long could we suffer a major data loss before it had a negative impact on my business?
- What is our current backup strategy?
- How long would it take to recover our data?
- Is our data protected from ransomware infections?
At m3 Networks, backup is at the forefront of our minds. Every. Single. Day. We take away the worry about data backup. We work with the leading backup solution providers to give our customers the very best solutions, so that they have the confidence that their business data is safe. If you would like to discuss how we can help protect your business, call us today on 01738237001.
5 Steps to Email Compliance
Your email is NOT secure.
For most businesses, email is a vital method of communication. Many organisations rely on email to send confidential information within and outside the business. The widespread use of email for confidential information makes it highly vulnerable to exploitation. In fact, email accounts for 35% of all data loss incidents, a recent study found. So with huge potential to cause harm to your business, there is a need to secure, control and track email messages and attachments wherever you send them.
Why you should change your passwords right now
Think your password is strong enough?
We’ve all been guilty of using weak passwords. But doing so makes you vulnerable to having your online accounts hacked. We all know we should use stronger passwords, so why don’t we?
Well, humans are creatures of habit. We like to repeat; it makes things easier to remember. We also find it difficult to remember complex patterns, so we use passwords that are easy to memorise, such as your house name, or date of birth.
Top 6 Ransomware Defence Strategies
You are going to get infected by ransomware. There, I’ve said it. Once you get your mindset over that hurdle, it’s time to plan and put your defence strategies in place. Here are 6 tips that will greatly reduce your risk of infection, and help protect your company’s data.