Best practices for securing backups

Backup is the first form of protection against data loss, whether it is software configurations or data and workloads on which company operations depend. The backup saves the state of the systems and data to allow them to be restored in the event of accidental problems, alterations, or malicious removals. Backup is the first line of defense against system failures, human errors, and cybersecurity attacks, including ransomware attacks. This provided that it is possible to restore in the most effective times, which is not at all obvious as unfortunately, many companies discover at the worst moment for example during an emergency.

To have effective backup protection it is necessary to apply the best practices concerning both data protection and their recovery in modern on-premise and cloud contexts. The first practice must concern the updating of backup practices based on changes in the systems to be safeguarded. Business applications change over time, increase in number and criticality for the business, but we do not always remember to update the protection of their files and data according to the parameters of RPO (recovery point objective) and RTO (recovery time objective) with recovery objectives consistent with changing needs.

The second practice, on the other hand, concerns the periodic verification of the effectiveness of the restore, or rather the actual ability to restore data and systems as expected. The checks are very onerous but necessary in order not to have to discover the problem in emergency conditions. It is also important to have guaranteed the availability of the physical or virtual environment (in the cloud) where both the tests and the actual recovery can be carried out in case of need.

When using cloud applications and services, it’s necessary to verify that the data backup is included in the provider’s SLAs and has the most effective RPO and RTO features. Having a physical backup locally is an additional guarantee in case of problems with networks or with ransomware that has encrypted data online. I

n more structured business environments, it’s necessary to invest in automation, both for the physical recovery of data and for the processes that involve people, for example, to alert departments or customers of the problem and have certainty about return times to operations. BinHexS has the skills to design and commission the most effective backup and business continuity systems that take advantage of the best technologies on the market, minimizing management costs.