Glossary
Backup
A backup is making copies of your important files and keeping them somewhere safe. If your computer crashes, gets stolen, or is attacked by ransomware, you can restore everything from your backup. It's like having spare keys to your house - if you lose one set, you're not locked out forever.
What is Backup?
A backup is a copy of data stored separately from the original, used to restore information if the original is lost, corrupted, or encrypted by ransomware. Effective backups follow the 3-2-1 rule: 3 copies of data, on 2 different types of media, with 1 copy stored offsite.
Why Should You Care?
Backups are your ultimate insurance against ransomware. If attackers encrypt your files and demand payment, you can simply restore from backup instead of paying. But many businesses discover their backups don't work when they need them most - either the backup failed, is too old, or was also encrypted by the ransomware.
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Real-World Example
A veterinary clinic was hit by ransomware that encrypted all patient records. The $50,000 ransom demand seemed catastrophic. But the clinic had automatic cloud backups running every night, and the backup account used different credentials than their main systems. They restored all data within 24 hours and were back to normal operations - without paying a penny.
How to Protect Against Backup
- 1.
Set up automatic daily backups to the cloud
- 2.
Use different credentials for backup systems than your main network
- 3.
Test restoring from backup monthly - make sure it actually works
- 4.
Keep at least one backup offline or air-gapped
- 5.
Enable versioning so you can restore older versions of files
- 6.
Document what data is backed up and how to restore it
Related Terms
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