Being a DoD contractor, you must have been faced with one question way too many times.
Are You Certain That Your Data Is Backupped?
The 2020 Cost of Data Breach Study should be alarming if you aren’t confident that your backup and catastrophe recovery practices are adequate and adaptable in the case of a data breach. An attitude that “this won’t happen to us” is usually the cause for not taking action to ensure that data recovery and backup methods are adequate and tested. The truth is, it might happen to you. Whether you are one of DoD contractors or DIB vendors, you must be compliant with various cybersecurity standards.
Here are six typical ways your sensitive data might be compromised, stolen, or demanded ransom. Understanding these dangers helps you realize how crucial data backups are, regardless of the size of your business.
1. Cybercrime
According to a report by the Ponemon Institute, malicious or illegal attacks with financial motivation account for 53% of all data breaches. Small and medium-sized organizations are easy targets for hackers because they are trailing their cybersecurity expertise, and cyberattacks have become simpler to launch. By regularly backing up your data, you can better react to and recover from different sorts of cybercrime and avoid paying the typical breach’s $3.29 million price tag.
2. Insider Threats
Employee-initiated sensitive data encryption, destruction, embezzlement, or corruption are part of the 53% of data breaches brought on by hostile attacks. Data theft poses a severe risk, mainly if your company’s access to information is not well regulated and if a dissatisfied employee is equipped to destroy your company’s operations. The ability to recover and restore your data will ensure that you can minimize harm even if not all efforts at sabotage are prevented.
3. Hardware Failure
You will definitely reduce your chance of encountering a hardware breakdown if you regularly update your hard disks, servers, PCs, and other devices. Sadly, the unexplainable does occasionally occur. You can be certain that your complete database is available and that you can duplicate it if something unexpectedly stops working if you incorporate data backup into that regular cycle.
4. Corrupt Files & Software Failure
Occasionally, the software will fail. Data and files might be damaged and erased suddenly. According to the Ponemon Report, a sizable portion of data breaches—incidents in which data is put at risk—are caused by software- or hardware-related system errors. Regardless of the reason, having adequate backup and recovery procedures might determine whether your company is available for business or not.
5. Human Mistake
Human error is a significant contributing element in data breaches in DoD companies, based on the Ponemon research. People do make mistakes. Employees unintentionally erase things we planned to save, drop laptops, misplace portable devices, or open harmful websites. By regularly backing up your data, you may prevent these errors from becoming major issues that end up being quite expensive.
6. Extreme weather and natural disasters
It’s crucial to note how backup handles the threats to your documents due to natural disasters, even if it is not covered in the Ponemon report. Another recent study claimed that small firms lose, on average, $3,000 per day when they shut down due to a significant storm. You need to ensure that you are storing up your data, given the frequency of these incidents in some areas and the ensuing power outages.
