As we recognize Cybersecurity Month, it is essential to focus on understanding threats and how different security measures can increase data safety. These measures include regular training, strong password practices, multi-factor autftware and devices, endpoint phentication, updating sorotection, implementing IDS and IPS, and much more.
One of the measures I would like to emphasize in this article is backup and disaster recovery. There are two important points to consider: why the backup matters, what problems it can solve; and how to implement it effectively to fulfill its purpose.
Why the backup matters
Data is always a primary threat. There are various ways in which data can be compromised, made unavailable, or become inaccessible. But, if we stay proactive, we can mitigate threats using backup and disaster recovery strategies.
Why the backup matters The number of ransomware attacks has increased significantly. According to some reports, the average ransom in 2024 is $2.73 million, which is an increase of $1 million from 2023. A ransom is the money hackers demand from victims to decrypt their data. If operational data is encrypted by ransomware, you can typically rely on backup data. However, there’s an important point to consider!
Today, ransomware targets not only operational data but also backup copies. As a result, restoring your backup may be impossible if it has also been encrypted. Fortunately, by using a backup solution like BDRSuite that supports immutable backups, you can protect yourself, as this technology prevents ransomware from altering your backup copies.
Have you ever experienced a situation where you, a user, or a colleague, accidentally deleted important data? It has happened to me, even with over 15 years of experience. It only takes a moment of distraction to make such a mistake. Instead of formatting a USB flash drive, I accidentally formatted my secondary disk, which contained over 10 years’ worth of photos and videos. Fortunately, I had a backup on my Synology NAS. Human errors can occur at any time, but we can be proactive by ensuring we have backups in place.
When you rely most on your data, it can become corrupted and inaccessible. Have you ever experienced copying or moving data from one location to another, only to find that it can’t be opened? This is often caused by a network transmission error. Data corruption can occur during the reading, writing, storing, or transmitting of data.
Several factors can lead to data corruption, including hardware failure, where a faulty component causes issues, power loss, software bugs, file system errors, various types of malware, bad sectors on hard drives (HDD), improper shutdowns of the machine, unstable system configurations, and more. When data becomes corrupted, the only option you have is to rely on your healthy backup copies.
Hardware failure is one of the most common causes of data loss. Depending on the type of storage system used, various problems can arise. Disks can fail for several reasons, including mechanical failure (in HDDs), power surges or outages, overheating, bad sectors, physical damage, manufacturing defects, and more. Another issue is firmware corruption. If you plan to update the firmware on your disk, always remember to back up your data first.
Storage systems can also fail, making data inaccessible. The best practice is to implement clustered storage that provides high availability of data. Even with this, data can still become inaccessible due to onsite issues. Therefore, it’s advisable to maintain an offsite copy at a different on-premises location or in the cloud. Whatever occurs, a proper backup strategy can make our data (always) available.
Data backup is a critical aspect of business operations to ensure compliance with regulatory requirements. This includes implementing secure and encrypted backups, following a regular backup schedule, ensuring offsite backups for disaster recovery (adhering to the 3-2-1 backup rule), and documenting the backup process. All of these requirements are outlined in regulations such as ISO 27001, GDPR, SOC2, and others. If you are a vendor working with customer data, you will likely need to fulfill these requirements.
Things to consider when implementing backup
The risk of losing data is not only minimized by implementing backups but also through proper configuration and best practices.
Things to consider when implementing backup One of the most important measures is to have IT trained teams who know how to handle backups and configure products according to best practices. This is best achieved by attending vendor training. However, there are common-sense practices appropriate for any backup vendor.
In addition, users should be trained in how to handle data, where to store it, what to share, and have defined permissions on what they can do with the data.
Another critical point is to implement and follow the 3-2-1 backup rule. The 3-2-1 rule is a straightforward concept: you should create three copies of your data, the original and two additional copies. These two copies should be stored in two different storage locations, with one copy saved in an offsite location, such as the cloud. I wrote a full blog article on this topic
What is the 3-2-1 Backup Rule and How BDRSuite Can Simplify it Practically?
Backups should be automated, meaning there’s no need for manual intervention, backups are performed on their own. We create a schedule that specifies when and where the data should be backed up. Once the backup job is completed, we can configure our backup system to send notifications regarding the success or failure of the backup jobs. I wrote a blog article that explains how to configure SMTP and send notifications on BDRSuite. Have a look here Step-by-Step: Setting Up SMTP for Backup Alerts in BDRSuite.
Email notification: Backup job completed successfully A common mistake is to configure and create a backup and then assume that everything is safe simply because a backup exists. Many companies have failed in this scenario, as they found that their backups were corrupted when they attempted to restore them after an issue occurred. I strongly emphasize the importance of backup verification testing the backup copies.
BDRSuite backup verification Have you heard the story of Toy Story? Pixar was working on Toy Story 2 when a technician, intending to perform maintenance and clean up unnecessary files, accidentally deleted essential files from the main disk. This mistake resulted in the loss of 90% of the film files. Upon realizing the error, they attempted to restore the files from the backup, only to encounter a setback: the backup copies were corrupted. The root cause of this issue was the lack of verification of the backup copies. It took an additional two months to rework the film files.
X (ex-Twitter) post from GitLab I also discussed five companies that experienced huge financial losses, with one even shutting down. Read more in this article: 5 Companies That Paid the Price for Neglecting Backups.
Today’s compliance and regulatory obligations outline the best practices for meeting regulatory requirements. These standards are not just formalities; they ensure that companies and their data remain safe. This includes defining how, when, and where to store data, as well as ensuring that backups are encrypted and verified.
Elevate Your Data Security with BDRSuite
There’s a saying that you don’t need a backup until you lose your data. Let’s avoid that situation, as organizations of all sizes require a reliable backup solution. The backup should include advanced features and address all the points mentioned in this article. Data protection must cover the hypervisor perspective, hosted VMs, endpoint machines, Microsoft 365, SaaS applications, Active Directory, Microsoft Exchange, databases, and more. All operational data should be fully covered.
BDRSuite, Vembu’s flagship product, can accomplish all of this and more. It offers backup to both onsite and offsite locations, with integration into Azure, AWS, and S3-compatible public storage. In the event of issues, you can perform an instant boot, conduct backup verification, access various reporting options, and receive notifications about your backup jobs.
Why do businesses choose Vembu BDRSuite? I’ve written an article detailing 9 Key Features that Make BDRSuite the Ideal Backup Solution; you can read it here.
Additionally, you can explore more articles about BDRSuite here.
Download it here, and don’t hesitate to reach out if you have any questions!
Conclusion
October is Cyber Security Awareness Month, and I want to take this opportunity to emphasize the importance of having backup and disaster recovery solutions in place. Data can become inaccessible for various reasons, including ransomware attacks, human errors, hardware failures, and data corruption. When any of these issues occur, access to your data can be compromised.
To mitigate these risks, we need to be proactive by monitoring the health of the storage system and disks and ensuring regular backups. However, simply having backups is not enough. We must also focus on several critical aspects, including training for IT teams and end users, implementing a 3-2-1 backup policy, and ensuring that backups are automated and verified. Additionally, it is essential to meet the best practices and regulatory obligations.
Achieving these goals is straightforward with a reliable backup solution. BDRSuite is designed to fulfill all your backup needs and protect your data effectively. This article covers this topic in more detail.
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