Today’s businesses are heavily reliant on data. Maintaining the integrity and security of this data is essential. Fail to look after your data, and you could have a costly and reputation-damaging data disaster on your hands. What are some examples of common data disasters? This post explores five common disasters and how to prevent them.
Data Breaches
When unauthorized individuals gain access to sensitive data, this is known as a data breach. A data breach could lead to passwords being compromised, your identity being stolen or trade secrets being leaked.
How do you prevent a data breach? By taking robust cybersecurity measures such as using strong passwords, regularly updating software and protecting all devices. Working with a cybersecurity company to identify vulnerabilities and patch them up is recommended. Make sure to also provide cybersecurity training to your staff (such as teaching them to identify phishing emails).
Accidental Deletion of Data
Critical data that is accidentally deleted could severely disrupt operations. This is often the result of human error while organizing data.
Making sure that all data is backed up can help you to recover any data that is inadvertently deleted. A managed backup service could be worth investing in – this backed up data can also come in use in the event of a ransomware attack in which a hacker may forcibly encrypt your data. Training employees how to carefully manage data could also prevent accidental deletions.
Hardware Failure
If hardware such as devices or servers fail, data that is not backed up can be lost. This could be severely damaging to your business.
This is another case where backing up data is key – never store all your data on one device or server. Choosing reliable hardware is important too. It’s also important to maintain this hardware and replace it in good time once you start to notice it failing (make sure that data is transferred from old hardware to new hardware before it becomes corrupted). .
Natural Disasters
A natural disaster like a flood, fire or earthquake could be a potential risk to your data. If your premises and hardware is destroyed, you may lose all your data.
It’s important to consider if any natural disasters are a risk to your business and to make sure that your workplace is as protected as it can be. Backing up data on a remote cloud server is also recommended – if your premises and hardware is destroyed, you will still be able to access your data through your cloud backups and potentially recover your business.
Using Inaccurate Data
Finally, it’s important to consider the dangers that data inaccuracies can create. Business decisions made using incorrect or outdated data could lead to costly failures.
Regularly carry out data audits to make sure that all information stored on your systems is up-to-date. It’s also important to double-check data when entering it manually. Using tools to automate data extraction may help to prevent inaccuracies caused by human error. This is particularly important with financial data and personal information.
