Having a strong data backup solution is the single most important thing you can do to enhance your information security.
Recovery from a wide variety of common security threats is relatively simple if you have a good copy of your data backed up. The most common cause of data loss is accidental deletion, and having a backup copy of the data makes it simple and painless to recover. Ransomware and other external threats are also simpler to address if a good backup is available.
However, data backup and recovery is a complex endeavor. Here are some of the questions that must be addressed:
- Where is your data stored?
- Who has access to it?
- Some data is more critical than others — can you identify all of your critical data?
- How often do you need to back up your data? (recovery point)
- How long can you operate without your data accessible? (recovery time)
- How will you regularly test the recovery of your data from backups?
- How long do you need to keep the backup copies? (records retention)
- How do you handle the backup copies to keep them secure?
A common mistake is to set up a backup process, and then forget about it until you need to recover something. Invariably, the backup is incomplete or damaged, preventing full recovery. A robust testing process for data recovery must be a part of your regular tech operations.
The Tech Office will review your data backup and recovery processes as part of a security assessment. We can then provide guidance on how to improve your processes to give you greater protection.
The Tech Office is using a solution called Backupify to provide data backups for Google Suite accounts. This solution backs up Google accounts to cloud-hosted backup sites. This includes Google Mail, Google Drive, Contacts and other data stored in your Google Suite account. This backup process runs entirely in the cloud, and is not dependent on your campus infrastructure.
We also have a company that can provide cloud-hosted backup solutions for your on-premises file storage. We have established discounted pricing that is available to all deanery institutions, please contact us for details.