Frequently asked questions about Backups
Why do I need a backup?
Backups are crucial to protect you from data loss due to various incidents, such as hardware failure, accidental deletion, malware attacks, or even natural disasters. Many businesses still don’t have sufficient backups of all their data.
What do you mean by sufficient backups?
You need to have backups of all critical data. This includes email, servers, shared drives, and cloud drives like Dropbox and One Drive. You will need a backup of all your information. Even if you don’t have a failure, disgruntled employees, hackers, and ransomware can all destroy your data.
I use mostly cloud applications so I don’t need a backup.
We’re hearing this more and more—but it’s a common misconception. Many major cloud providers, such as Microsoft and Amazon, clearly state in their service agreements that they are only responsible for keeping the service running—not for protecting your data. That means if data is lost or corrupted, it’s on you. Even with cloud services, backing up your data is essential.
What does ransomware do to my computers and servers?
Ransomware locks or encrypts your data, making it inaccessible. Unless you pay the ransom—which we strongly advise against—there’s no way to recover your files. Even if you do pay, there’s no guarantee the criminals will give you the decryption key. In fact, paying can make you a target for future attacks. The best defense is a solid backup—if you have one, you can recover without giving in to ransom demands.
What are immutable backups?
Immutable backups are backups that can’t be altered, modified, or deleted after they are created. This is important so that your backups don’t become infected and/or destroyed by malware or ransomware.
What are air-gapped backups?
Air-gapped backups are backups that are disconnected from the network after creation, making it inaccessible to hackers or malware. This isolation provides an extra layer of protection against ransomware and other cyber threats that can compromise traditional backups.
Cybersecurity Insurance & Backup Requirements
If you carry cybersecurity insurance but aren’t maintaining proper data backups, your policy may not cover you in the event of a cyber incident. Most insurers require proof of reliable, up-to-date backups as a condition of coverage. If you file a claim and the insurer discovers your backups were inadequate or nonexistent, they may deny your claim entirely. Proper backups are not just best practice—they’re essential for insurance compliance.