06 Jun Data backup…your last line of defence in the war against hackers
Data backup…your last line of defence in the war against hackers
What is the threat to my data?
In the rise of threats to our valuable & private data, cyber-criminals are forever creating new ways to disrupt and defraud our professional and personal lives. One of the cyber threat trends that has seen a sharp increase in activity within recent years is Ransomware.
Ransomware takes its action via the form of malicious software that restricts or removes your access to file data stored on your computer or server. Downloaded from an illegitimate website or arriving on your computer via an email link or attachment, the Ransomware application rapidly installs itself & begins to infect or take control of your file data without the computer user even necessarily being aware an attack has taken place.
Ransomware, as the name suggest, is a means by which hackers can take something belonging to you or your business and hold it to ransom for release upon receiving a monetary payment from you. Although, there’s no guarantee they’ll even release the file upon receiving your payment!
Can we stop ourselves becoming a victim?
Although it is critical to ensure you have cyber defences in place, it is almost impossible to ensure that you are 100% protected from the threat of cyber-crime, particularly from the specific threat of Ransomware.
The malicious software used to launch a Ransomware attack is constantly evolving and can take many forms, despite security vendors continually updating their software & threat analysis, there is a strong chance that an innocent action by one of your users will result in their machine becoming infected at some point.
What can we do if we’re attacked?
Firstly, make efforts to limit your exposure to attack by ensuring you have cyber defences in place and have conducted awareness training for your team.
But, when you inevitably suffer from an attack, your last line in the defence against cyber-crime is to rely upon secure recovery point from a current, ring-fenced data backup solution.
With a professional-grade backup service, you can benefit from peace of mind that your up-to-date data is stored, securely, in an alternative offsite location and is ready for recovery at a moments notice in the event of loss or corruption to any, or all, of your files or system data.
But we already backup data to a disc?
Having a data backup of any kind is a helpful initial step to take in a bid to recover your data in the event of any loss. However! A basic backup to an external disk is by no means a reliable or secure means to achieve true peace of mind with all of your system data.
There are a number of manual elements to a disk backup that limit its effectiveness in a disaster; most critically, the need for a person to take the disk offsite and remember to bring it back again.
In the event of a Ransomware attack, should the disk be connected to the network, it will most likely be infected and render the backup useless. This, twinned with limited means of running effective regularly scheduled backups, results in a data backup to disk being a too restrictive and risky means of recovery in the event of a disaster.
What should we do instead?
All businesses should operate with an automated on-site + off-site backup service, confirming to the 3-2-1 backup rule.
3 copies of your data – one active on your server/cloud storage/computers, one local backup copy and one offsite copy.
2 forms of media – varying medium of disk or device used to store the backup copies.
1 copy held offsite.
The service should be managed and monitored daily by your external IT service provider or member of internal IT personnel – with strict urgency placed on taking action in the event of a failure or issue logged from the previous day’s backup.
It all sounds costly, however implementing a professional-grade backup solution doesn’t have to cost the earth; particularly if you factor in the cost and inconvenience of a total, or even partial, loss of data.
Employing these rules within your business can go a long way to ensuring a fast & effective recovery from a disaster, should you suffer the loss or corruption of any data, however large or small.
Want to get the best of cyber security for your business?
At Urban Network, we take a security first approach to everything that we do with technology.
If you have any concerns, questions or simply want to explore how to better secure your business, please do get in touch with the team for a FREE demonstration and initial consultation to explore how exposed your business might actually be.
To book a consultation or to arrange a further discussion, please get in touch via our form here, call 020 7749 6899 or email us hello@urbannetwork.co.uk.