With hacking and ransomware attacks on schools and other educational institutions on the rise, it is essential that educators ensure their data is secure. As some school districts have experienced significant data loss due to such activities, such preparation minimizes risks that no one can afford.
Issues with ransomware attacks and corrupted cloud accounts have also caused several of my colleagues to lose data. It is distressing and can often be costly to recover from.
Educators should consider the following when backing up their data:
5 Quick Tips for Backing Up Your School Data
- Follow the 3-2-1 rule for backing up data. Have at least three backup copies of your data, using at least two different media, one of them external. Those backups must be stored in at least two physical locations. For example, one copy at home and another in the office. Or maybe on external hard drives. A third party could be stored in the cloud, whether a personal or institutional account, although remember that cloud accounts are not 100% reliable and should not be your only backup. Backups should also be made to at least two different types of media. External hard drives, flash drives, and optical disks are potential options along with cloud backups.
- If possible, automate the backup process so you don't have to remember to start it manually.. At the end of each semester or quarter, it is a good idea to create a complete backup. Label that backup and set it aside as an archival record for that semester.
- Make sure you invest in high-quality external hard drives for your file backups. Many systems include password protection or encryption on hard drives. Encrypting your data provides an additional layer of protection. If you have large amounts of data, you may want to consider a cloud-based backup service.
- Test your backups. Make sure each backup is complete and successful by recovering at least a couple of files from each backup. Backups are worthless if the data cannot be recovered.
- Be especially careful with any data that includes personally identifiable information (PII). Consideration could be given to adding password protection to documents that include any PII, especially as it relates to students.
Implementing a comprehensive and effective data backup plan is crucial to protecting your data against loss due to hardware failure, cyber attacks, or accidental deletion. By combining on-premises and off-site backup solutions, automating the backup process, and periodically verifying the integrity of backups, people can ensure their data remains safe and recoverable.
It is important to evaluate your specific needs and resources to select the most appropriate backup methods and tools. Remember, the goal of a backup strategy is not only to preserve data, but also to enable efficient recovery when necessary, ensuring minimal disruption to work and personal life.
