How to backup your digital workspace
Why should you backup your data?
Data backup is becoming an essential part of security in today’s threat landscape, where data is proving to be an attractive target for cyber criminals.
Backing up your data and doing so securely, can protect against some of the most prevalent cyber crimes today, including:
Ransomware; According to the NCSC, ransomware attacks have more than doubled over the past year.
Fraud; A UK Finance report showed that, in the first half of 2021, criminals stole a total of £753.9 million through fraud, an increase of over a quarter (30 percent) compared to H1 2020.
A data breach; A NCSC survey found that 21% of businesses that reported a cyber breach or attack experienced a negative outcome (e.g. a loss of money or data). The average cost of cyber security breaches for businesses is estimated to be £8,460.
Backup is important for restoring data if any of these incidents were to occur. If an unplanned event were to occur (e.g. ransomware), restoring your backup of the data would be critical for business recovery and continuity.
Tips for backing up securely
Before beginning your backup, prioritise the data which is most important to back up and decide whether you intend to back up only this, or all of your estate.
An external hard drive
The first and most simple step of the backup process is to invest in an external hard drive and to systematically copy your data onto it. To ensure that this is done securely:
The hard drive should be stored in an offsite location, away from employees. This minimises the chance for the data to be stolen or to be accessed by unauthorised staff.
Ensure that the hard drive is not permanently connected (either physically or via a local network) to the device containing the original copy, since some malwares can infect both the device and connected accessories.
The cloud
Cloud storage can be reached only with internet access, and is automatically stored in an off-site location. It is recommended to use a cloud software that saves the files and permanently saves a backup copy. This doesn’t include some of the mainstream cloud softwares such as Dropbox, Google Drive or Sync.com. Although they are great ways to share and edit documents live, they aren’t suitable for backups.
A solution that we recommend is Carbonite Safe® server backup, which protects files while they’re in use and allows you to easily recover copies of your files from the Carbonite cloud.
Encrypt your backups and use strong passwords
A good cloud software will allow you to encrypt your backups. This means that if someone were to intercept your network and access the data, it would be unreadable … unless the outsider had your passwords. Which is why, along with data encryption, you should ensure that your passwords are strong.
Carbonite Safe® allows you to encrypt your files before they leave your computer and then they are encrypted again whilst in transit at one of their off-site data centres.
Get started with Carbonite Safe®
Carbonite offers their clients sophisticated hybrid backup and disaster recovery services, allowing for the management of all aspects of your backups. The process is mainly automatic and allows for incremental backups.
To book your demo and get started with Carbonite Safe®, sign up for the solution below and we will be in touch.
