Four Digital Backup Recommendations for Professionals
There’s more than one type of virus to be vigilant about as you return to the office.
The hybrid work environment poses unique threats to small business cybersecurity. As employees transition between remote and office setups, they run the risk of misplacing physical data storage or worse, bringing in malware from outside environments and infecting the entire company network, which can make mission-critical and highly sensitive data vulnerable to hackers.
The best way to ensure your data is recoverable in the event of a breach is to make sure it’s backed up beforehand. Here are four recommendations for the best data backup strategies and solutions for your company’s hybrid workforce.
1. Double Check that Your Data Is Actually Backed Up
Cloud storage is often the default for small businesses that don’t need robust on-site IT infrastructure. While cloud platforms are a flexible and secure storage option, don’t assume that your cloud-based data is automatically backed up.
You’ll need to routinely do that yourself. Online backups shouldn’t be conflated with cloud-based storage systems like Google Drive and DropBox. While these platforms do store documents in the cloud, they won’t automatically make copies of all the assets you need unless you’ve set up or enabled an automatic sync.
You should confirm the data you want to back up is the right data: the right and versions in the right formats. A backup of an out-of-date dataset won’t be of any use if you need to recover it after a hack.
And always take these two steps to make sure your backups are as secure as possible:
Choose immutable backups, which prevent data deletions and alterations in the event of an attack.
Enable encryption, which ensures only authorized users can understand the compromised data by scrambling readable text in a breached asset.
2. Follow the 3-2-1 Rule to Secure Your Company’s Data
One handy rule to heed when backing up your assets is to have three copies of essential data: the original and two backups, ideally located in different formats and locations. Spreading out your backups helps minimize the risk that a security breach to one platform could jeopardize your data.
Here’s an example that combines cloud-based and physical storage. Say you have a sensitive customer file housed in a CRM application:
The file is stored locally on an employee’s computer, which is one copy.
The employee also has the sheet backed up on a physical hard drive, which is the second copy.
The CRM application also allows you to store backup copies in the cloud, which makes a third copy.
Even if the employee damages their computer and hard drive, your company can still recover the asset from the cloud. Likewise, if there’s an issue retrieving the asset from the cloud, the employee can access it from their computer or hard drive.
3. Make Sure Your Backups Are Complete and Usable
After you have backed up your data, you’ll need to go back and make sure your backup is finalized. Too often companies backup data once and never test it, only to find out after an incident that the copy never finished backing up.
Communicate with your team how they can ensure their backups are complete: devices need to be “awake” and running in order for the backup to finish. Employees should always check that the data is valid once complete.
4. Use a Cloud Backup Solution for Small Business
Most small businesses don’t have a full internal IT team to oversee company-wide backups. That’s okay – you can get some outside help.
To get extra support monitoring and enforcing your routine backups, you can enlist a cloud backup solution provider. You’ll be able to plug in how often you want to back up certain assets and on which devices, and the software will automate your backups for you.
Here are several cloud backup solutions for small business to consider:
Beyond software solutions, you can also consult a Managed Service Provider (MSP) for cloud-based IT support to help oversee your backup protocols.
Proworking Needs a Digitally Secure Environment
It’s hard to predict exactly what the hybrid work landscape will mean for business security, but backing up your assets is an effective way to prevent losses in case of an unexpected threat.
At Firmspace, security is one of our top priorities. Our proworking spaces are built with numerous safeguards, from Watchguard Firewalls to thick privacy glass, to ensure our members’ offices are protected from physical and digital disruptions.
If you’re on the hunt for a secure space to match your company’s small business cybersecurity needs, book a tour at your local Firmspace to see if it may be a fit.