Do you save files in the clouds such as Dropbox, Google Drive or Microsoft OneDrive? They are at risk!
Don't get me wrong: cloud storage providers employ much more security and protection than you'll find in your office. But that doesn't mean they are failsafe.
You need redundant backups of cloud files to deliver much more security than any single service can.
A recent example underlines the crucial role of multiple backups.
On August 31, 2019, an Amazon datacenter in Virginia suffered a power failure. The backup generators took over for 90 minutes, but then started failed.
Though power was restored within four hours, over the next three days Amazon discovered that damage to machines caused irrecoverable loss of data.
For three days, some customers did not know whether they could get their data back.
What are your risks?
Services such as Dropbox, Google Drive and OneDrive have features that synchronize files between your computer and their data centers. Synchronization is convenient and appears to provide redundant protection.
Unfortunately, synchronization can go badly wrong. A writer for Wired magazine found out the hard way, a very hard way. When files are corrupted or crypto-jacked on your computer, the damage can synchronize to your cloud storage and other devices.
A nightly, automatic, independent backup service protects you against the wide range of threats you face. That includes power outages and backup generators at Amazon and other cloud providers.