Keep Your Data Secure with Offsite Data Backup
August 18th, 2023 by admin
Data is the lifeblood of the modern world. Everything around us runs on data - from global businesses and organizations to even individuals in their homes. This data comes in many forms: sensitive consumer information to critical business documents and more.
As the amount and value of data grows, so do cybercriminals' attempts to get their hands on it. Taking steps to safeguard your data is becoming more important than ever before.
One way to go about data security is through offsite data backups. Let's take a look at how this works, and why it's so important.
What is Offsite Data Backup
Traditionally, backups of important data were kept either on local servers or external hard drives within the organization's premises. But while data backups are important, keeping your backups in the same location as the original poses a risk.
For example, if the server was under attack, you'd lose the original data and the backup. Similarly, you'd be in trouble if the hard drives fell into the wrong hands!
Offsite data backup is a protection strategy where, as the name suggests, copies of important data are kept at a different physical location. For example, it may be transmitted to another server in another country or city. It could even be a hard drive kept in a geographically distant location.
This aims to ensure that in case of a disaster - from cyberattacks to fires and theft - you have a copy of important data safe and sound.
Why is Offsite Data Backup Important
Offsite data backup is vital for any organization. With business operations depending on data, losing this data will be catastrophic. Having a safe data backup is necessary from multiple angles.
As an example, offsite data backup is a critical component of disaster recovery plans. Natural disasters, cyberattacks, and even hardware failures can result in data loss. Having data securely somewhere else will ensure that the more critical info can be recovered, and your business operations won't come to a standstill.
Cyber-attacks like ransomware have also become a prevalent threat to businesses of all sizes. These attacks can encrypt your data and hold it hostage until a ransom is paid.
With an offsite backup, you can restore your data to a state before the attack occurred, mitigating the impact of such threats - from both a data and financial perspective.
It may also be important from a regulatory perspective. Many industries are subject to strict data protection and retention regulations. Offsite data backup can help businesses comply with these regulations by ensuring data is safely stored and readily available for auditing purposes.
Key Aspects of Offsite Data Backup
Offsite data backup is important, but for it to be effective, you must ensure some criteria are met!
For example, you should make sure that the data you transmit is properly encrypted. If any unauthorized users were to access it during transmission, you'd have a big problem on your hands. Ideally, it would also be encrypted where it is stored, especially if you are using a cloud platform.
You also want to ensure that if you opt for a data center (as opposed to hard drives), it comes properly equipped with security measures. A backup is necessary, but that backup should also be kept safe!
Look into the speed and automation options as well. You want to make sure that your data is transmitted at a reasonable speed, especially for large amounts. This doesn't just help with backing up but also makes the data recovery process faster.
It's also best to look for automation, so all new data can be transmitted to the backup location. This way, something as simple as forgetting to back up your data won't cause you trouble in the long-run.
Offsite data backups provide a safety net against data loss through attacks and disasters. This becomes an extremely important part of security protocols for modern businesses that fall apart without their data.
An offsite backup acts as a safety net against data loss. From ransomware attacks to hardware failures, holding a recoverable copy of your data can get you back on your feet in no time.
If you want to learn more about how to make an offsite data backup, contact us today.
Posted in: Security