Last week on Tech Talk on The Big 550 KTRS our IT expert, Rion Kolosieke, joined the show to talk about having a disaster recovery plan and how to securely store your documents. Guy Phillips was in good humor and talking about technology jokes too. It's almost Halloween and keeping up with some of our St. Louis roots, we just wanted to leave you with a technology joke before we dive into our segment from last week. What do you call having your grandma on speed dial? Instagram! That's the last of the corny jokes, we promise. Data backup and disaster recovery, however, isn't something to joke about.
3 Types of Data Storage Disasters
Human Error - Everyday errors like accidentally deleting or overwriting files can be some of the biggest blunders for your data. Sadly, some of the most common instances of data loss are caused by the people who use the data every day. Human error isn't only an issue that affects document recovery, it has a large impact on cyber security too. Adopting a backup method and being thorough in your saving process can help to cut back on human error disasters.
Natural Disasters - If you're not in an area that is prone to hurricanes, you might be in a place that can have earthquakes. If you're not in either of those areas, you may be somewhere that could flood. The list of different disaster types goes on. Having proper data storage is critical because natural disasters can't be planned for. If a business lost all of its documents and everything was destroyed in a fire, they could be closed for months or even indefinitely. Businesses run on data, you can't risk losing yours forever. Having your data securely stored and safe is one of the only things you can plan for in the event of a disaster.
Ransomware - We've talked about ransomware attacks on Tech Talk before. This is a cyber attack where the criminal steals important data and files from the victim and requires a ransom to be paid in bitcoin for their return. Ransomware is a growing issue and can lead to years worth of lost data if not handled properly. When files are properly backed up, they are still recoverable in the event your data is ransomed by a cyber criminal. In years past, cyber criminals would go after big businesses because it meant a larger payout. Recently, the hot targets for ransomware have been small businesses. It's not all about how important the data is to the criminal, but how important that data is to the survival of your business if its lost forever. As we’ve stated before, we do not recommend that anyone should pay the ransom. Contact an IT services professional before taking any steps against a ransomware attack.
There are quite a few different scenarios that can compromise your data. Adding a secure solution like disaster recovery is like having insurance for your data. You would never go into business without having the proper insurance on your office, the same applies to the data that your business relies on to continue running.
During the show, the group got on the topic of how to properly store important information. Which was a great segue into the National Cyber Security Awareness Month topic that was on deck. Guy mentioned that he's been trying to get his wife to be better about securely managing her passwords. Practicing secure password management is one of the best things that end users can do to protect their accounts. Rion and Guy talked about the different apps that people can use like 1Password, Dashlane, and Password Depot to securely store and manage their passwords.
Practicing security awareness is one of the best things that end users can do to protect themselves online. Our goal for Tech Talk is to share the collective knowledge that SumnerOne has about IT services and technology with others so they can be safe online too. Be sure to tune in this Friday afternoon at 4:20 to listen to our next segment on the Guy Phillips Show on The Big 550 KTRS. Check out last weeks full video down below.
Originally published October 25, 2018, updated February 12, 2019