6 data backup mistakes startups can’t afford to make

Written by Kevin Liew on 17 Feb 2019
21,378 Views • Miscellaneous

Data security and information privacy is obviously a big deal today. Thanks to technology, life has become a lot easier than it was before, but cybercrime has also gone high. It is therefore upon business and individual internet users to remain alert in bracing up for data issues that might affect them.

For businesses especially, there is a lot to lose, including the reputation and credibility that might cripple your company a long while. It is why having a data backup plan is essential for all business owners. Even then, there are several mistakes that no business. Small or big, can afford to make. Check them out below:

Not backing up your data

Not having a data backup plan is one thing, but not backing up your information entirely is a fatal mistake. You may feel secure at the moment because your brand is not quite visible or active in the digital space, but once you become a target, this move will cost you a lot. Hackers and other cybercriminals are not always after the brand name, but after maliciously frustrating the efforts of businesses and capitalizing on any opportunities they bounce too.

At the least of things, remember that as long as you use digital data in some way, there is always a need to back up your data. Besides, the fact that you are not the only one in your business mean that your employees can still be a security vulnerability for data loss, whether accidentally or intentionally.

Not capitalizing on passwords

When dealing with a substantial amount of information like that of companies, there is always a need to use passwords for your data. It is the easiest way to lock out third-party unsolicited access to the information. For most companies, it helps in categorizing employees according to rank. Therefore, you cannot overlook the essence of passwords. Even for your staff, you should have account logins that permit people to upload and download information from the backup media.

Ignoring two-step verification

Once you have strong passwords for your backup option, say, the ottomatik.io offering MySQL backup, it may be time to consider the two-step verification. The bad thing with passwords is that they can always be shared or cracked. This means that people you intend not to access some information in your backups may end up doing so. The two-step verification is thereby essential because it adds in an extra layer of security.

Notice that today, all the critical business platforms, including Salesforce and Google Apps for Work, offer the two-step verification. It helps to personalize your backups by making sure that the people gaining access are well aware of when the information was last uploaded or downloaded from the backup media.

Failing to train their staff

As a startup, you do not have a lot of data to manage, which may lure you into thinking that you can handle it all on your own, when it comes to backing up data, the tasks increase as your data grows. As the frequency at which you need to keep backing up increases, the more you need your workforce to be on board with the entire process.

Ideally, you can automate most of your backups, but you still need your staff to be aware of some basic backup tips, for example, saving up their work as they work.

Failing to prioritize security

Something about being a young business makes business owners feel reluctant to pursuing security measures for their company. The truth is, there may not be too much to secure as a startup company, but you still need to make security a priority. If you wait until your business has grown enough, it means you have to adopt some changes that you and your staff were not used to, and this may be difficult. Since there are many other adjustments you will need to make as a business, including customer growth, make sure you integrate security measures in your core values right from the start.

Too Many Employees Access

Even though you do not feel like there is anything to hide from your employees, restricting access is necessary for every business, big or small. It is above allowing different levels of access to different employees based on their delegated duties in the workplace, along with their trustworthiness in protecting the interests of the business as their own.

Join the discussion

Comments will be moderated and rel="nofollow" will be added to all links. You can wrap your coding with [code][/code] to make use of built-in syntax highlighter.