Safeguarding Business Continuity with the 3-2-1 Backup rule and Air Gap Technologies

As an organization, data loss poses one of the most significant threats today. Whether due to cyberattacks or storage device corruption, the consequences can be severe. Shockingly, only 25% of small businesses have a data recovery plan in place. Additionally, there are approximately 140,000 weekly hard drive failures, accounting for 45% of all downtime. 

To mitigate these risks, consider adopting the 3-2-1 backup rule, which streamlines backup procedures and reduces the likelihood of data loss. Let’s break down this rule: 

1.       Three Copies of Data: 

Maintain three copies of your critical data. Having redundancy ensures that even if one copy becomes inaccessible or corrupted, you still have two additional copies available for restoration. 

This approach significantly reduces the risk of permanent data loss. 

2.       Two Different Media: 

Store the copies in two distinct formats or media. Diversification provides an additional layer of protection against specific types of failures. 

For example, having one copy on a physical external hard drive and another in the cloud protects you from hardware malfunctions and online security breaches. 

3.       One Copy Immutable or Air Gapped: 

Keeping a copy of your backup immutable or air gapped adds an extra layer of protection: 

Immutable Backups: These backups remain unalterable, ensuring the authenticity and reliability of your backup copy. They meet compliance standards and protect against ransomware attacks. 

Air Gapped Backups: By physically isolating backup data from the network or computer being backed up, air gapping provides absolute protection. Even sophisticated ransomware attacks cannot compromise a properly air gapped system.

4.       One Copy Stored Offsite: 

Retain one copy of your data offsite. This means keeping it somewhere separate from the main area where your data is created or maintained. 

Offsite storage ensures that even if a disaster (such as a fire or flood) affects your primary location, your data remains safe. 

Leveraging Air Gap Technologies 

Air gap technologies play a crucial role in thwarting ransomware attacks. Here’s why: 

1.       Absolute Protection: 

Air-gapped systems are impervious to online threats. Even the most sophisticated ransomware attacks cannot compromise a system that has been effectively air gapped. 

Preservation of data integrity is guaranteed, as data stored within the air-gapped environment remains unaltered and uncorrupted. 

2.       Ransomware Resilience: 

Backups provide unaltered copies of production data, rendering the need to pay ransoms unnecessary. 

Air gapping ensures that your backup data remains isolated and secure, preventing ransomware from spreading to your backups. 

In summary, combining the 3-2-1 backup rule with air gap strategies offers enhanced resilience against data loss, cyber threats, and malicious activities. Prioritize these practices to safeguard your business continuity and critical data.

Mevrx help you with designing secure backup strategy, backup architecture with data resiliency and protection against growing cyber attacks like ransomware against your organization.