Data Security and Backups

Friday 30 March 2012

Top 9 Data Security Risks

Here’s the list of Top 9 Data Security Risks. I thought to rank them by them causing maximum damage.
Risk 1: Access to data by unauthorized people
§  Simple passwords should be replaced by stronger, multi-factor
    authentication passwords.
§  Password policy should be transparent throughout all the logins
    required. Passwords should be between 6-15 long, must
    include Upper case, lower case, Number and 1 special character.

Risk 2: Modification of data, by mistake or knowingly
§  Data integrity is the key to the success of any organization.
§  All data sent over the internet should be send using strong encryption
Risk 3: Corruption of data due to malware infections
§  Growth in internet usage has also seen the growth in malware
    infections which significantly contribute to data corruption.
§  Files should always be downloaded from reliable sources.

Risk 4: Internet Connectivity failure
§  Many Organizations these days have several applications over
    the Internet, in such a situation failure of Internet can lead to
    data loss.
§  Backup service provider should be if in case primary fails
Risk 5: Accidental data deletion
§  Backup should be taken regularly and should be done automatically
    with option to restore data from multiple versions
§  Several companies lack well-conceived data recovery strategies
    had to bear both financial as well as legal losses.

Risk 6: Loss of data due to Software failures
§  Pirated copies of software should not be bought even though
    these copies can be purchased at a lesser price.
§  Misconfiguration and incorrect software usage have created
    several issues.

Risk 7: Improper rights assigning
§  Every program and every user of the system should operate using
    the least set of privileges necessary to complete his job.
§  A unique ID and password should be given to each user. Users
    should be given read only access to the applications present.

Risk 8: Unauthorized Physical access to laptops, desktops by unauthorized people
§  Prevent unauthorized entries into the premises and other
    sensitive areas.
§  Visitor control procedures should be employed to restrict the freedom
    by which a visitor can access the premises.

Risk 9: Fire
§  Heat-generating equipments such as copiers, work processors, coffee
    makers and hot plates should be kept away from anything that might
    catch fire.
§  Sprinklers and fire/smoke detectors should be installed in storage
    areas.

Monday 12 March 2012

Managing Ageing Data

I had this discussion with several of my clients stating they have old data of hundreds of GB’s on their servers and they hardly require them once or twice a year or even not at all. Some of them state they have written DVD/CD’s of that data as backup, but that data still exists on Servers which they cannot delete as DVD/CD's are prone to failure. Those data is occupying a whole bunch of space on their servers which they can utilize in storing their current data. Don’t get me wrong those data are critically important data but storing everything on a single server doesn’t make sense. Adding more hard disk to the servers is definitely one of the options available, but I would rather implement a different system
Find out age of your data. There can be
a)      Young data
b)      Old data

Young data is the one which is highly valued and may be required to access almost everyday or fortnight.

Old data is the one which is critical but may not be required in daily functioning i.e. data that is year or 2 years or more older.

For e.g. Accounting data which is current and previous year can fall in category of Young data.
Data which is older than 2years can be considered as Old data.
We are supposed to maintain those data for taxation and government rules. Next step is how to get a system which takes care of both Young and Old data.

The Solution

As we saw there are multiple tiers of data.
Young Data can be stored on higher performance servers or devices.
Old Data can be moved to less expensive or slow performing servers / devices.

The following shall be benefits of this solution



ü  Save Costs
ü  Gives faster access to young data
ü  Better security both for young and old data rather than relying on
    DVD/CD’s or any other failure prone devices.
ü  Access to both of your data anytime you require.
ü  Reduce backup time as Old data does not change frequently so you
    can take backup of the same once a month or once every quarter.

Maybe currently you are treating all data equally and storing them all on one data. Imagine, if a disaster occurs on your server, you might loose everything. Again, we increase overload on the server by storing everything on that same machine.
We have to learn to implement a system which shall differentiate between ageing of data.