Nowadays, it is critical for organizations to possess data as it ensures the continuity of their growth and production. To keep up with the continuously evolving digital landscape, organizations generate, process, and store vast amounts of data.



By 2023, organizations will be collecting massive amounts of data to provide personalized and up-to-date services to customers. The organizations' demand for databases will increase in capacity and speed, as losing a database poses a significant risk to their existence in most cases.

Last year, IBM's 'Cost of a Data Breach Report 2022' showed that the average cost of a data breach was $4.35 million. Once an organization loses its data due to a disaster, the repercussions can last for months or even years. Recovery and stability provisioning of infrastructure can prove to be challenging without database backups, causing additional data losses due to application failures and downtime.

In some cases, organizations overlook database backups entirely, and IT specialists postpone implementing backup workflows for prioritizing production tasks. As an organization expands its operations and infrastructure, there is an increasing need to develop a comprehensive backup plan and set up efficient backup security.

For both small organizations and enterprises, a centralized solution such as the NAKIVO Nutanix Backup solution can protect their database backups and environments, ensuring swift recovery when required. Following best practices to increase database backup security is crucial.

1. Use the cloud: Cloud-based data storage is efficient and reliable, accessible from anywhere with an internet connection, and provides security for services.

2. Enable backup encryption: Encrypting backup data creates an additional protection layer against unauthorized access to essential data records, posing a significant challenge to hackers.

3. Restrict access rights: Thoroughly setting access rights to data backups for employees efficiently decreases the chance of data loss or corruption due to human error or insider attack.

Two-factor authentication and role-based access control (RBAC) are features available in modern data protection solutions, such as NAKIVO, that simplify management workflows and enhance database backup security by restricting backup access rights. Implementing the principle of least privilege with these access restriction features is crucial.

Organizations should keep track of their backups by creating and updating data backup logs. Knowing what data is stored and where it is stored can reduce downtime in emergency situations and result in a faster recovery process. Physical storage has a significant advantage over cloud storage as an offline storage solution, allowing for data recovery even when internet access is lost. Adhering to the 3-2-1 backup rule ensures that you always have a functioning backup copy.

Creating backups is not enough to support production continuity. It is also vital to consider backup storage and security. Cloud-based data storage is convenient and secure, but encrypting backup data and restricting access can add layers of protection. By tracking backups and sending backup copies to different storage locations, you can ensure data integrity and recoverability, even in the event of a data breach or disaster.

I cannot stress enough the critical importance of sending backup copies to different locations. This practice is akin to creating multiple layers of protection around your valuable data, providing a safety net that can be a game-changer in the event of a cyber attack or any other unforeseen disaster.

By sending backup copies to different locations, you are essentially diversifying the risk associated with data loss. Just like spreading investments across different asset classes reduces financial risk, having backups in multiple locations mitigates the risk of losing crucial data due to a single point of failure.

From a security perspective, this approach also helps guard against targeted attacks. Cybercriminals often seek to compromise central data repositories, but by dispersing backups across various locations, you make it significantly harder for them to cause widespread damage.

Adhering to best practices in data backup and storage involves more than just duplicating files. It necessitates consideration of encryption, access controls, and regulatory compliance as well. Sending backup copies to different locations must be part of a comprehensive backup strategy that accounts for these factors.
I advocate for the implementation of a robust backup plan that includes sending copies to diverse locations as a fundamental aspect of safeguarding data integrity and preserving operational resilience.