March 31, 2022 is World Backup Day.
According to the dedicated WORLD BACKUP DAY website, this year’s motto is “I solemnly swear that on March 31 I will back up my precious documents and memories.”
Best practices, and consequently the IT tools needed to make the best possible backup, perhaps recursive, on three different devices, spread over multiple geographic areas, etc., are not the focus of the “backup” topic, because all in all, there are very few people we can call passionate about this topic.
What we all really need is to feel safe, in every small or large aspect of our lives, and to know that our sensitive data (whether personal or corporate) is protected–that’s it, that’s the really important thing.
So this year, we decided to put people, and not tools, at the center.
In fact, it is people who in addition to the need for security should also have a strong sense of responsibility by asking themselves some simple questions:
- Is all my data really important or only some of it?
- Am I handling them in the correct way?
- Am I doing everything I can to protect them?
Once we have determined which part of the data we hold is unmissable, we can decide on our personal strategy aimed at ensuring that it will remain over time, beyond the adversities that may occur.
For this to happen, we briefly expose the basic rule of 3-2-1-0
What is the rule of 3-2-1-0?
3: KEEP AT LEAST THREE COPIES OF YOUR DATA
In addition to the primary data, there should be at least two other backup files to be considered protected. In case of problems, the primary data and the primary backup could be lost. The secondary backup should therefore not be located in close proximity to the primary data.
2: SAVE BACKUPS ON TWO DIFFERENT MEDIA
It is recommended that one of the copies be saved on a removable storage medium (external hard drive, cloud storage).
Keeping both versions of the backup on the same type of storage media increases the risk of losing all backup data when a failure or cyber attack occurs.
1: KEEP AT LEAST ONE BACKUP COPY OFF-SITE
At least one backup copy should be stored away from the location of the data and the primary backup. That way, in the event of mishap-such as a fire or theft-everything in that one location could be lost.
1: SAVE AT LEAST ONE COPY OFFLINE
It is recommended to maintain at least one offline backup copy, separate from the network and any IT infrastructure. For example: external USB hard drives, analog tapes.
0: MAKE SURE YOUR BACKUPS ARE ERROR-FREE
Backups are only as good as the process used to control them. Backups should be monitored to find errors and correct them as quickly as possible; it is also good to make sure that data is recoverable from the backup by performing recovery tests at regular intervals.
We have tried to decline this rule by giving it a “home-grown” look, to help you protect your personal data more than your corporate data.
Companies are a complex structure, and to best protect its critical data, the best choice is to rely on dedicated staff, and a customized strategy.
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