Tuesday Thoughts: What’s Your Backup Strategy?

by | Aug 22, 2023

Today’s Post by Joe Farace

Being a geek is a great thing. I think we’re all geeks. Being a geek means you’re passionate about something and that defines your uniqueness. I would rather be passionate about something than be apathetic about everything. —Masi Oka

In the  information technology world, a backup is defined as a copy of computer data that is taken and stored elsewhere so that it may be used to restore the original after any data loss. Backups can be used to recover data after being lost from data deletion (raising my hand) corruption, or to recover data from an previous time. Backups such as Apple’s own Time Machine may provide a simple form of disaster recovery buy not all backup systems are able to reconstitute a computer system or other complex configurations.

Backing Up

A backup system contains at least one copy of all data considered worth saving. “3-2-1 Backup” is a common technique for preventing permanent data loss. This method consists of having three copies of your data, two on-site each on a separate device (e.g. an identical copy on two different hard drives or one on a hard drive and the other on a different media), and —therefore “3-2-1”).

Having two on-site copies allows you to quickly access your data even if one is lost or damaged. Having an off-site copy allows you to access your data even if the two onsite copies are both lost or damaged at the same time (e.g. due to theft or fire).

The rise in ransomware attacks* provides some incentive for strengthening the basic principles of the 3-2-1 strategy—redundancy, geographic distance, and access—with added protections. Cyber crimes targeting networked machines and capturing all data, including backups, is a growing problem. New versions of this tried-and-true backup strategy have emerged, such as the 3-2-1-1-0 or 4-3-2 backups.

  • 3-2-1-1-0: This rule stipulates that backup administrators need to have at least three copies of data in addition to the original data. The 2 in the 3-2-1-1-0 rule suggests that you back up data on two different types of media. The original 3-2-1 rule made the same recommendation, which often meant creating one backup on disk and another on tape or whatever.
  • 4-3-2 backups: This backup strategy adds an additional level of data protection and is also known as the Five Nines backup strategy. It’s similar to the 3-2-1 strategy but with two more copies. This layered approach makes data protection strategies more robust and reliable because you have more options when it comes to recovering data.
Ransomware: is a type of malware that threatens to publish the victim’s personal data or permanently block access to it unless a ransom is paid. While some ransomware may lock the system without damaging any files, more advanced malware uses a technique called cryptoviral extortion. It encrypts the victim’s files, making them inaccessible, and demands a ransom payment to decrypt them In a malicious extortion attack, recovering the files without the decryption key is an intractable problem and difficult to trace digital currencies such as Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies that are used for the ransoms, making tracing and prosecuting the perpetrators difficult.