Cyberthreats to Your Business Data
Every week businesses large and small are getting attacked by ransomware and malware. Having a good backup strategy is more important than ever for businesses of all sizes.
Some tips for a good backup strategy:
- Know where your data “lives” – Files and data frequently reside in more than one location. You may be backing up your server but what about the spreadsheet you use every day on your desktop? Take some time to survey where your files are located and review periodically to catch any changes.
- Plan your backup frequency – How often data is backed up is not a one size fits all answer. The best way to plan backup frequency is to visualize the “pain” of recreating data after it is lost. If, for example, your plan is based on a weekly backup regime – how much time would it take to recreate a week’s worth of data? Would it even be possible?
- Know where your backup data “lives” – There are many choices of where to put your backup data including external hard drives, storage servers, and in the cloud. If a disaster happens to your office would you lose your backup data as well? A good backup plan also takes into account disaster scenarios as well as cyber-security threats.
- Periodically test your backup – Your backup is of no use if it failed to run or cannot be properly restored. Backup logs should be reviewed and test restores should be performed to ensure your backup regime is working as planned.
- Keep a list of software licensing information – When a computer is infected with ransomware or has a hardware failure, operating systems and programs will need to be reloaded as well as data restored. You don’t want to be searching for software license information when a disaster strikes.
How DHJJ Can Help
If you’d like to discuss types of backup for your accounting software, call DHJJ at 630-420-1360.
