World Backup Day is approaching on March 31st. But let's face it. Like most anniversaries, it's a fluffy holiday that speaks to an important idea. Businesses and individuals will need to take data security much more seriously than they currently do. This is especially true against the backdrop of the rise in cybercrime. The global cost of cybercrime is expected to skyrocket over the next four years, from $9.22 trillion in 2024 to $13.82 trillion in 2028. And apart from hackers, there are still more boring but equally devastating data loss incidents caused by human error. An executive laptop left on a plane loses its unique and important intellectual property.
As cybersecurity professionals, perhaps World Backup Day could be the day we take some steps to close the gap and prepare for a world of growing cybercrime and inevitable errors. Here are five things to suggest as a reminder to security managers and the companies you serve. Some of these may seem simple. But if that were true, every company would be doing it by now, right?
Stop pressing “Remind me later” when updating software
Software updates are one of the best ways to keep up with the rapidly evolving pace of cybercrime. But how often does each user in your company update their mobile phones and computers?
Keeping the software that works for your business patched and up to date is an easy way to protect yourself from a data breach and the problems that are sure to follow. Yesterday's version of software is only built to fit yesterday's cybersecurity landscape. As tempting as it may be, don't ignore update reminders. Keep your software up to date.
Don't use work devices for personal use
Targeting this in your policy is a surefire way to reduce your data loss vulnerability. Work processes must exist within a closed, carefully controlled ecosystem with vetted software and solutions that support the daily flow of work. Employees introduce weaknesses into the system by mixing in personal information, whether in the form of applications, email, or browsing. It's much easier and safer to make it an overarching issue of company policy than to litigate every possible exception in broad daylight. Company devices do not include personal issues.
Avoid using personal devices for work
The above principles work in both directions. There is no way to be sure that your employees are diligently updating their software. When employees take their work to their personal devices, it's impossible to hold those devices to the same cybersecurity standards as their work devices. After all, work devices are company property. This extends beyond software updates to his backup solution. Data loss on personal devices can result in permanent data loss.
Use the right tools for the right purposes
In the cybersecurity industry, cloud collaboration platforms (also known as CCPs) are often misunderstood as tools for which they are not intended. CCP and other platforms like it are great for literally collaborating on documents with team members and sharing files with clients.
However, CCPs are commonly abused as backup tools. CCPs lack file encryption, proper backups, disaster recovery options, and are more likely to be inaccessible in case of a cybersecurity attack. So, just like you wouldn't use a hairbrush to brush your teeth, make sure your team uses his CCP for collaboration and backup to actually back up your files.
Make backups and make regular backups
At the end of the day, when disaster strikes, all that matters is how a company can get its data back. And the last line of defense against this is very simple. Back up your team's data regularly using an endpoint backup solution. For companies, regularity should mean that a day he does not once, but continuously.
With this type of protection in place, bad actors are completely disarmed because businesses can effectively restore data to the state it was in before it was stolen. And of course, this also helps with accidental data loss. A popping sound on your motherboard can be a huge pain, but with endpoint backups in place, it's no longer a disaster.
holidays based on chance
World Backup Day is said to have started in 2011 when a Reddit user lost his external hard drive and all his data was nowhere to be found. The fact that the entire holiday is devoted to this event shows that this experience is all too common. Cybersecurity professionals can help flatten the curve in 2024 by adhering to the resolutions proposed above and promoting them in their workplaces.
