Data Loss Damages Growth: How to Prevent a Data Disaster

October 2, 2014

It’s been happening since we stopped using typewriters: the night before the paper is due, something inexplicable happens to your computer. Maybe it’s been hacked. Whatever the reason, you lose hours and hours of data – and still have to face your morning deadline.

When there’s more than just a school paper on the line, the stakes get even higher. Data attacks occur nearly half a billion times per year in the United States alone; more than any other country in the world. The major culprits tend to be malware, email attacks, and phishing scams, which together are responsible for 73% of external data loss situations.

These attacks aren’t just wiping out Chaucer papers and biology reports. They’re going after client and personal employee information: names, addresses, and even bank account information.

By some estimates, a data breach is financially crippling for 50% of companies after taking a hit, resulting in bankruptcy. Some 72% of business that suffer major data losses shut down within 24 months. With these terrifying prospects, how can your business protect its data and stay safe?

• Regular IT audits. Nothing is more reliable than a good old-fashioned checkup. Routinely scheduled maintenance checks of your IT systems and backup are one the easiest and cheapest ways to maintain security. 

• Use the cloud. Some companies can benefit by combining their current backup strategy with cloud storage, or even replacing it altogether. Using Backup as a Service (BaaS) products enables a fresh start for data backup that allows the data to be both safe and accessible (or at least restorable from the cloud provider). BaaS is essentially a cloud-based delivery of an existing IT function. Lots of things are different, including management, economics, and the underlying infrastructure – but at its core, it’s like the backup products with which your company may already be familiar.

• Train your staff. When was the last time each of your employees changed their passwords? How many of them can tell a secured from an unsecured website? Solid employee training and incentive to use good online security habits can go a long way towards preventing data breaches. Email and phishing scams can be thwarted with common sense and good habits. 

• Contact ITS, Inc. for a FREE consultation. Sure, this stuff can be overwhelming. That’s why we’re here! Contact us today for a conversation about how ITS, Inc. can help protect your data from unwanted attacks.

Thanks for reading,

Rob Connary, President - COO

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