Is Your Business "Using the Cloud" or Actually Backing Up Your Data?
In today's digital age, businesses heavily rely on data for their daily operations. Everything from customer databases to financial records, project details to internal communication, rests on the bedrock of digital storage.
However, the common misconception that "having data on the cloud" is equivalent to "having a backup" can be a costly mistake. Let’s dive into the intricacies of data backup and why it’s an indispensable part of your business.
1. "Using the Cloud" vs. "Backing Up Data"
Many businesses, especially start-ups and SMEs, are swiftly transitioning to cloud storage solutions. This transition is commendable for reasons like accessibility, cost-saving, and scalability. However, it's essential to delineate between "using the cloud" and "backing up data."
Using the cloud typically means that you’re storing your data on remote servers, accessible via the internet. This can be through services like Google Drive, Dropbox, or OneDrive. The primary benefit is that you can access this data from anywhere, anytime, given you have an internet connection.
Backing up data, on the other hand, involves creating a copy of your data and storing it separately from the original. This could be on another cloud service, an external hard drive, or another server. It ensures that in the event of data loss, you have another source to restore your data from.
The key takeaway here: If your business's data is only stored in one place on the cloud and that service suffers an outage or data loss, you're out of luck. Always have a separate, distinct backup.
2. Common Misconceptions about Data Availability
Misconception 1: "My data is in the cloud, so it’s automatically backed up."
While cloud providers do have their own redundancy measures, they're not immune to data loss. Outages, breaches, or accidental deletions by users can still lead to lost data.
FACT: According to a report from the security firm Sophos, 70% of organizations experienced a public cloud security incident in the last year, with ransomware and other malware (34%), exposed data (29%), and compromised accounts (22%) being the most frequent forms of attack.
Misconception 2: "My computer automatically saves to the cloud, so I won’t lose anything if it crashes."
True, if you've set up automatic syncing to a cloud, you're better protected against hardware failure. But remember, if a file gets corrupted on your PC and this corrupted version is synced to the cloud, the pristine version could be lost.
FACT: Misconfigured cloud storage was one of the top causes of data breaches. In fact, misconfigured cloud servers, networked backup incidents, and other cloud storage technologies were responsible for exposing over 7 billion records in 2019, constituting a 33% increase from the previous year.
Misconception 3: "Ransomware or cyberattacks can’t affect cloud-stored data."
Ransomware attacks are becoming more sophisticated, and some can even target cloud storage. If your primary data storage gets encrypted by ransomware, having a separate backup can be a lifesaver.
FACT: 68% of organizations are unable to detect a security incident in less than an hour
3. Potential Disasters: It's Not Just About Crashed Computers
While hardware failure is a common reason to restore from a backup, other potential disasters can jeopardize your data:
Human error: Accidental deletions or overwrites can happen.
Natural disasters: Fires, floods, or earthquakes could destroy physical storage devices.
Theft: Devices could be stolen, leading to potential data breaches or loss.
Software corruption: Sometimes, software can malfunction and corrupt files.
Having a comprehensive backup strategy is not a luxury but a necessity in today’s business world. It's about risk management. To fully safeguard your business's valuable data, ensure that you are not just relying on cloud storage but have multiple, separate backups in different locations or formats. Because when disaster strikes, the last thing you want to worry about is whether your data is recoverable.
4. The Cloud Is Not Secure By Default
40% of companies stated they had suffered a cloud security breach in the past 12 months. Of those who had experienced a breach, almost 20% were due to misconfigured cloud settings, emphasizing the importance of proper cloud configurations. Misconfigured cloud storage was one of the top causes of data breaches. In fact, misconfigured cloud servers, networked backup incidents, and other cloud storage technologies were responsible for exposing over 7 billion records in 2019, constituting a 33% increase from the previous year.
These stats underscore the importance of implementing robust security measures, especially as businesses increasingly rely on cloud infrastructure and storage solutions. However, it's worth noting that while the cloud introduces some unique security challenges, when configured and managed correctly, it can also offer more robust security features than traditional infrastructure.
Want to do a quick check-up and see if your data is secure? Your I.T. team is here.