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HOW DO BACKUPS WORK IN THE CLOUD?

We have all heard about “The Cloud”, but does anyone ever wonder how backups are done “up there”?

Most of us mistakenly believe that once you move your servers to the cloud, all backups are done automatically.

Correct?

Well, YES and NO.

Like ANYTHING in technology, nothing is as it seems.

As in all business matters, the devil is in the details.

Are backups being done – YES!!!!!

Are the backups the kind that you need? – MAYBE NOT!

Let’s us assume a very simple situation:  you moved your single server to the cloud.

When you signed the contract the vendor points out that backups are being done nightly, twice a day, three times a day, etc., and that the backups are being stored in a cavern that is five miles underground and is atomic bomb proof – even on a direct hit.

THEN comes the day when you destroy a key file and you need to restore it to a previous day.

You quickly call the cloud vendor and ask them to restore the file.

They say …. “WE CAN’T.”

Of course, you ask “WHY NOT?”

They tell you that the backup they do is for your ENTIRE server in case your server should ever crash.

With their advanced backup software they can restore your server almost to the time that it crashed.

You tell them — “My server did not crash.  I just ruined ONE file.”

So then you ask then – “WHY CAN’T YOU RESTORE MY ONE FILE?”

They patiently explain to you that the backups that they do are “IMAGE” backups — and all they can do is restore your ENTIRE server but only if the server crashed.

You tell them that “THAT WON’T WORK BECAUSE MY SERVER DID NOT CRASH AND I HAVE MADE LOTS OF CHANGES TO OTHER FILES – I CANNOT HAVE YOU OVERWRITE THOSE CHANGES.  I JUST WANT THAT ONE FILE RESTORED.”

They say that they are sorry but they cannot do that.

Or, if you are lucky, someone will tell you that they CAN do it but at a very high EXTRA charge.

It is THEN when you realize that YOU are responsible for your daily backups in case you need to restore a single (or multiple files).

Now…. Sometimes this type of backup is included in the contract, sometimes it is an extra charge, sometimes you have to do it yourself.

SO READ THE CONTRACT CLOSELY AND ASK ABOUT THIS SITUATION.

As I stated … “The devil is in the details.”

IN SUMMARY

The cloud can be convenient but educate yourself first and read the entire agreement.

ALSO, ASK THEM SPECIFICALLY: “WHO IS RESPONSIBLE IN CASE OF A HACK?”

If you have questions about the cloud, contact us!   

• CALL US at 805-445-4833.
• We can even go to your site if you are stuck in rut!!

MISCELLANOUS NOTES – click on links below:

FROM CYBERHEIST NEWSLETTER – 12/12/2017

Which departments are causing the biggest cybersecurity problems at your office?

TechRepublic wrote: “People are always the weak link when it comes to enterprise cybersecurity — but some departments are more likely to get hit and fall victim to attacks than others.”

“Everyone is susceptible to these attacks. Nobody is immune,” said Wesley Simpson, COO of (ISC)2. “It doesn’t matter what type of organization, how strong you think you are, how much money that you’re investing into your hardware and software environment to have the latest and greatest technology. We’re all vulnerable, and you can’t do it alone.”

Here are three departments that are often most likely to fall victim to cyberattacks:

1. IT and development. They are not immune to mistakes or attacks that result in security breaches, as 2017 has proved, said Forrester analyst Jeff Pollard. For example, we saw that Amazon S3 storage buckets were a constant source of data exfiltration, often by security researchers and bug bounty hunters, but also by attackers.

2. Finance. A large number of attacks in 2016 and 2017 targeted procurement and finance teams, Pollard said. These attacks attempted to get employees of the company to transfer large sums of money to the attackers, bypassing normal accounts payable procedures and controls. There’s no reason to believe those attacks will drop in 2018, he added.

3. The C-Suite. C-level executives – including the CEO – are the most at risk of being hacked when working outside the office, according to a recent report from iPass. These employees often work long hours, are rarely confined to the office, and have unrestricted access to the most sensitive company data, making them highly valuable and highly available targets, the report found.

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