COMMON CAUSES OF DATA LOSS AND TIPS FOR PREVENTION/ DATA RECOVERY

Today's businesses are increasingly dependent on technology, so it is critical that every organization's IT department and its many components, such as servers, networks, devices, and business software, are prepared. One of the first priorities of a business strategy is to detect the possible causes of data loss and learn how to prevent them and can do data recovery.

An email with an overflowing inbox is a common cause of complaints and frustrations in offices around the world. But there is an even worse cause: an inbox that is not accessible or that is empty. Imagine losing access to all your email history and attachments, detailing an important project the entire company was working on. Without an established business continuity plan, you would waste money, manpower, and time trying to retrieve all the information. In addition, the permanent loss of access to the company's electronic records also carries potential fines and penalties for non-compliance.

It won't happen to you…. until it happens

Most businesses have the misconception that data loss "won't happen to them." A few years ago, Forrester Research and Disaster Recovery Journal published a report on the resilience and readiness of corporate IT / IT departments that produced interesting results. Only one in five organizations was prepared for data loss, while 30% of those surveyed had significant data loss issues in the previous five years. A more positive aspect is that more than 50% used mirroring technology for mission critical systems and relied on the cloud for data protection. However, the general conclusion remains that many organizations do not take data protection and backups as seriously as they should.

Here are the reasons why data loss occurs in companies and how to avoid them:

 Hardware failure and system malfunction

·        According to research 40% of data loss cases occurs due to hardware failure. Some of the most common causes of hardware failure include impact damage, electrical spikes, electrostatic discharge, dust, overheating, hard drive degradation, etc.

·        In business computing and information custody, the best way to avoid hardware failure is to invest in enterprise-grade hardware, ensure network redundancy, and pay attention to the end-of-life of each component within your network system. In business computing and e-mail custody, redundancy refers to the practice of duplicating critical components (hardware or network) in order to provide backup copies in case of component failure and increase reliability. A good example of hardware redundancy is RAID, which combines multiple physical components of disk drives in which data is distributed among the drives so that in the event of a failure of one or more storage drives, the data can be recovered of the remaining units. A redundant power supply contains two or more power units, so if one fails, the other can take over and keep the servers or a file device running. A redundant power supply is a vital feature in business computing because it minimizes the possibility of the device powering down, failing, or losing data. The other prevention is of using datarecovery software if nothing works, data recovery will let you recover your data after hardware failure.

The Human Factor

·        The human factor continues to play a prominent role in business data loss. The causes can range from reckless recklessness or inadvertent sharing of confidential data to theft or corporate espionage, so it is essential to be very careful with the data with which you work in a business. The degree of data loss due to computer theft is often difficult to measure, as only 10% of these crimes are reported. A few years ago, several computers were stolen when the New Mexico Office of Radiation Control went bankrupt. Without proper data backup and data archives, the state agency would have had serious trouble getting back on track.

·        The first step in minimizing and preventing data loss caused by employee negligence or misconduct is to create appropriate policies and guidelines and convey them to staff. All email, social media, and mobile exchanges must be archived on the organization's premises using a secure solution. Likewise, it must have customizable functions for user access, policies and verification of the integrity of the messages that avoid the elimination, manipulation of data and the alteration of tests, and that allow administrators to control who has access to the most important and confidential data that can be vital to the success or failure of the business.

Ransomware

·        A few months ago, Healthcare Info Security published an article about how a Minnesota-based mental health clinic decided to pay a ransom to recover all its data and files that were illegally accessed by hackers. In 2016, police departments and local municipalities in the United States were targeted by similar attacks. These attacks are serious because hackers can delete files unless the victim pays, meaning critical corporate information could be gone forever.

·         As cybersecurity continues to be a growing priority for organizations across all industries, prevention measures and security best practices remain: ensuring up-to-date software patches are available, changing passwords regularly, monitoring systems and impediment to physical access to devices and, finally, take into account that data backup and archiving are vital parts of any company.

 Natural disasters

Although natural disasters account for less than 5% of all data loss cases, when they do occur, they do so strongly. With the 10 major hurricanes that occurred in 2017, it is no wonder that water damage is feared in offices along the southern and eastern coasts of the United States. Along with fires and earthquakes, floods are a factor that cannot be predicted or prevented. What you can do is back up your critical data frequently and make sure you have all your important data backed up in more than one location.

Blackout Power

They don't happen often, but both power outages and sudden voltage changes can easily damage hardware (hard drives are especially vulnerable). Should this occur in your organization, your next steps will depend on what you have done to prepare. If you don't have backup systems, you will probably have to contact data recovery professionals to get it back. Fortunately, organizations often use an uninterruptible power supply to protect against unexpected power interruptions. Having a redundant power supply, such as RAID, and regularly backing up data to multiple locations can go a long way towards data security and organization.

Custody of the information in response

Information escrow solutions provide automated collection and long-term, interactive and secure storage of electronic business content such as email, social media, or mobile. Custody of corporate email enables organizations to comply with various regulations and guidelines, improve response to future litigation, and provide a secure storage option for sensitive and critical business data. Finally, since escrow solutions protect information in a repository for the long term, content can be easily restored in the event of a disaster or during any downtime.