We often talk about data backup as the best remedy for a virus infection. If the worst happens and a virus takes your systems down, then you just restore an uninfected backup.
However, what happens if your backup servers get infected?
Let’s address several technology pieces that need to be in place to prevent a virus from infecting a backup and permanently destroying your data.
We’ll assume in our discussion that a city already has some type of data backup solution along with endpoint detection and response (EDR) in place.
It’s bad enough to get a virus. It’s worse if that virus goes undetected. Many modern viruses often mask themselves, retreat to the background, and do malicious things to your systems such as collect financial information. The longer the virus lurks in the background, the more it can spread and the more damage it can do.
Cities need proactive monitoring and alerting through a combination of automated software that tracks technology health combined with experienced IT professionals watching your systems. Part of that monitoring and alerting involves the right kind of EDR software that offers sophisticated monitoring tools to detect and block attacks.
Let’s unpack this phrase a bit.
It’s important to note that if you don’t have enough storage for a reasonable backup retention period, you may be stuck in a situation where the only files you can restore are infected ones. We recommend an unlimited offsite data backup storage service that allows you to keep your offsite backups indefinitely. Then, you can go back in time as far as you need to recover files.
Despite the best cybersecurity protection and data backup, employee education remains an essential part of your strategy. EDR and antispam software can help prevent access to many malicious websites and email attachments. But employees still need to learn more about what not to click on and how to spot hacking and phishing attempts.
Some things you need to talk about with employees include:
As we see from this situation, there’s more to backing up data than just backing up data. You need to stay vigilant through proactive monitoring and alerting. You need to retain data snapshots that go far back in case your backups get infected. And you need to keep training employees who often unknowingly take actions that let in viruses and hackers.
Worried about what would happen to you if a ransomware virus hit? Reach out to us today.