The 3 Backup Mistakes to Avoid

Abstract

Can you say with absolute certainty that your business could survive a total server failure tomorrow morning? If the answer is no, then you have work to do getting your data backup systems into a better place. Most small businesses believe that having a backup running is the same as their data being safe, but that’s simply untrue. Having a backup is half the battle; making sure the backup works is another story.

Today, we’re examining the 3 most common mistakes small businesses make with their data backup—and the steps you can take to fix them before disaster strikes.

Mistake #1: You’re Still Relying On a Single Backup

Too many businesses plug an external hard drive into their main server and assume the job is done; but it’s far from over.

A local copy of your data is great and makes for a quick recovery, but it offers little protection for physical disasters and cybersecurity incidents. If your office is compromised, your original data and your backup are both gone all at once. This creates a single point of failure, and that’s bad news for business continuity.

Instead, practice the 3-2-1 framework, which involves three copies of your data, on two different types of media, with at least one isolated, off-site backup.

Mistake #2: You Aren’t Testing Your Recovery Speed or Data Integrity

You don’t actually know if your data backup will work unless you test it, so until then, it might as well not exist.

The worst thing you can do is assume your backup will just work when you need it to. Files can become corrupted during the backup process, or the software can back up the wrong folders entirely, and you won’t even know unless you’re actively looking for these issues. In worst-case scenarios, you might find that your most recent “valid” backup is from months ago, and that’s an unacceptable amount of data to lose.

This is why we recommend you perform a monthly test restore, complete with an analysis of recovery time objective (how long it takes to recover) and a full audit of which file paths are included in your backup.

Mistake #3: You’re Ignoring the Human Element of Data Backup

If a cybercriminal infiltrates your network, they’re not going after live data without also taking a crack at your backups.

What would you do if your backups were encrypted or deleted by a hacker? Some small businesses inadvertently make this easy for hackers by using the same administrative password for both their main network and their backup portal (or even by leaving their backup drive mapped as a visible folder on any device on the network). Instead of taking this risk, you’ll want to aim for immutable backups that cannot be changed or deleted by anyone for a set period of time.

It’s also vital that you use separate credentials for your backup solution, as well as enable multi-factor authentication (MFA) to guarantee no one can mess with your settings without access to a secondary code.

Data backup is not a “set it and forget it” solution; it’s one that requires time, dedication, and expertise to make sure you get it right the first time. If you don’t, your business will continue to remain in danger.

Do you want to implement better data backup and recovery practices for your business? NetMGM can help. Learn more by calling us today at 888-748-2525.