Are you properly backing up your data? If not, your business faces the risk of losing important information and data in the event that your hardware or software fails, files are accidentally deleted due to human error, or your organization experiences a data breach. The average cost of a data breach is $9.44 million USD, according to IBM’s 2022 Data Breach Report, and many businesses fail to recover.

Data backup is the process of creating copies of important data to be stored in a separate location in the case that the original data is lost, damaged, or corrupted. In the event that your data is lost or compromised, data recovery is the process in which backed up data is retrieved from its stored location. Data backup and recovery is an essential part of a strong cybersecurity posture and can significantly minimize the impact of a data breach or human error.

Risks You Face If Data Is Not Backed Up

If you’re not backing up your data, your business is currently facing several risks. Here are a few of the most significant ones:

• Data loss: Your business is at risk of losing critical data in the case that your software or hardware fails, data is accidentally deleted, you experience a cyberattack, or a natural disaster occurs. Without a backup, your data will be lost forever, leading to loss of time, money, and resources.
• Downtime: If your business experiences data loss, it can lead to a significant amount of downtime trying to recover the data. This results in a period of time where critical operations are disrupted and your business can experience loss of revenue, reduced productivity, increased costs, and security risks.
• Damage to your reputation: If your business loses data belonging to your clients, it can significantly damage your reputation and potentially lead to lost business. Your client community trusts your business to keep their data secure, and failing to do so can result in a loss of trust and credibility.
• Compliance: Data loss can lead to serious consequences if your business has legal and regulatory requirements for data protection. Ensuring you take appropriate measures and have systems in place to properly back up your data, your business can maintain compliance and avoid legal fines and penalties.
• Financial loss: Loss of critical data can result in significant financial loss, including costs to recover lost data, loss of revenue from downtime, and potential damage to equipment or systems. In some cases, without proper backup systems in place, it may not be possible to recover the data at all.

In order to minimize your risk, it’s essential for your business to implement proper data backup systems and follow best practices to ensure business continuity. Here are a few best practices your organization can follow to protect sensitive data, ensure compliance, and safeguard your reputation:

How to Properly Back Up Data

• Identify what data needs to be backed up: Determine what critical data will need to be backed up regularly, such as client information, financial records, and important documents.
• Choose your backup method: Establish which backup method your organization will use. Backing up data to a remote, cloud-based server will allow you to automatically backup data on a regular basis and keep it secure. You also have the ability to restore and access data from anywhere, allowing you full access to your data when working remotely.
• Encrypt your backups: In order to secure offsite backups and prevent data breaches, encrypt your backups to avoid unauthorized access to your sensitive information. If a hacker were to gain access to your backup data, they will not be able to view or use it if it is encrypted.
• Regularly test your backups: It’s essential to regularly test backups to ensure that they are complete and your data can be successfully restored in the event of a disaster or emergency.

By properly backing up your critical data, you can ensure that your organization is protected from data loss and successful cyberattacks.

Contact us to learn more about how we can help to improve your cybersecurity posture and give you the confidence that comes from knowing your business is always secure.

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