50% experience data loss due to inadequate backup procedures

Data security company Apricorn, has announced new findings from a Twitter poll exploring data backup and recovery processes. More than 50 per cent of respondents noted that they, or their employees, have experienced a loss of data as a result of not backing up, or a failed backup. 

Despite this, more than 60 per cent of respondents stated that they are not required to play a role in backing up company data. Given the troves of data now moving beyond the boundaries of the corporate network, as more businesses adopt home working scenarios, Apricorn says the results are 'concerning'.

Jon Fielding, Managing Director EMEA Apricorn, says: “This month is Cybersecurity Awareness Month, and the focus is on “Do Your Part. #BeCyberSmart.” Data security is not the responsibility of just one person within an organisation; every employee plays a part and having individual, as well as central, backups in place is critical for maintaining a strong cyber security posture and business continuity. Data backup keeps information safe and enables a much faster response towards complete restoration and recovery in the event of a disaster, reducing downtime and minimising financial and reputational damage.”  

Whilst backup procedures are still not at the forefront of all business' cybersecurity plans, those that are backing up state that they are using the cloud (55%) as their primary location for data backups. That said, only 36 per cent of respondents believe the cloud (36%) is the most failsafe place to do so. Twenty-eight per cent suggested offsite data centres are a secure alternative and 24 per cent noted removable storage devices as the most failsafe place to backup company data so it can be recovered after a breach/loss. 

“The fact that businesses are making additional backups of their data is a huge positive, but the responses suggest that businesses are heavily reliant on cloud storage for primary and/or secondary backups. The 3-2-1 rule should form the basis of any backup processes: keep three total copies of your data, on two different mediums, with one copy stored off-site. Maintaining physical backups even if you use cloud storage is essential in case your cloud provider experiences downtime and/or faces a breach”, Fielding adds.

However, a third of respondents admitted to not backing up data to a second off-site location. Of those that do, over 30 per cent are backing up to the cloud and just over 20 per cent are relying on storage devices to keep secondary backups.  

“Online and offline storage should go hand in hand. Removable storage devices are complementary to the cloud, enabling the retention of some element of control over the data rather than abdicating all responsibility to a cloud storage provider. By backing up locally on hardware encrypted storage devices, and mandating employees also do this every day ensures you have recent copies of your data and makes restoring from different backup versions as easy as possible. Businesses need to make certain that should a breach occur, they have coupled their backup plan with a disaster recovery plan also," Fielding concludes.

Apricorn's poll is based on answers from 5,415 responses in the UK and US.