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Survey Shows Most People Back Up…But Not as Often as They Should

By
Services for Real Estate Pros with IDTheftSecurity.com Inc

According to a new survey, we now have a good idea of the habits of the regular person in regard to backing up their devices. The survey, which covered almost 3,000 people, looked at people around the world. What it shows is that 91 percent of people back up their devices and their data. But, 68 percent of people still lost data because of a different reason. These include accidentally deleting the data, software or hardware failure, or even because they hadn’t backed up their data recently. The truth is, only 41% of companies and people back up each day, which leaves most of us…and most businesses…vulnerable to data loss.

The data from this survey stress how important it is to implement some type of cyber protection strategy for a business, which includes backing up data several times a day, and using the 3-2-1 backup rule. This is creating three copies of your data (a single primary copy and two backups), storing your copied on two different types of storage option, and then storing one of the copies in the cloud or remotely.

Change the Game with Cyber Protection

With more cyberattacks happening all of the time, the traditional methods of backing up our data is no longer working. We simply cannot rely on only backing up our information. It is way too dangerous.

Cybercriminals will target backup software with their own ransomware, and then try to modify the files, which makes it even more important to protect your information.

Recommendations for Cyber Protection

There are a number of different ways you can protect your personal or company’s information. Here are just five things you can do to ensure that your data is relatively safe:

  • Create a backup of your most important data…always – Keep a number of different copies of your backup locally and in the cloud. You want to do it locally so you can access it quickly and frequently, and you want to save it in the cloud to make sure that even if there is a fire, flood, or other disaster, your data is safe.
  • Ensure your OS and applications are all the current versions – If you are not updating your OS or apps, it means that they are much more vulnerable to getting hacked. These updates often contain patches and fixes that can keep cybercriminals out.
  • Beware of any suspicious links, emails, or attachments – Most ransomware and virus infections are created by using social engineering, and they trick unsuspecting people into opening these infected attachments or clicking on a link that installs malware to the device or network.
  • Install anti-virus, anti-ransomware, and anti-malware software – While you are doing your automated updates for your apps and OS, you should also be using all of these different software options, too.
  • Consider using an integrated cyber protection solution – You want to choose an option that combines anti-ransomware, anti-virus, backup, patch management, and a vulnerability assessment all in a single solution. This type of solution increases efficiency, ease of use, and the reliability of your protection.

ROBERT SICILIANO CSP, is a #1 Best Selling Amazon author, CEO of CreditParent.com, the architect of the CSI Protection certification; a Cyber Social and Identity and Personal Protection security awareness training program.

Wayne Martin
Wayne M Martin - Chicago, IL
Real Estate Broker - Retired

Good morning Robert. Guilty as charged. Thanks for the roadmap. Enjoy your day!

Jul 15, 2020 05:38 AM
Nick Vandekar, 610-203-4543
Realty ONE Group Advocates 484-237-2055 - Downingtown, PA
Selling the Main Line & Chester County

I think all those lost points had not been backed up on AR, if they had, we might have been restored by now.

Jul 15, 2020 07:58 AM
Nina Hollander, Broker
Coldwell Banker Realty - Charlotte, NC
Your Greater Charlotte Realtor

I back up daily and weekly. My email account is backed up every hour in the cloud, as well, by GoDaddy. I suppose I should do more cloud back up in general.

Jul 15, 2020 08:00 AM
Grant Schneider
Performance Development Strategies - Armonk, NY
Your Coach Helping You Create Successful Outcomes

Good morning Robert Siciliano - It always seems that when disaster strikes you have the backup but not the latest.

Jul 15, 2020 08:14 AM
Kathy Streib
Cypress, TX
Home Stager/Redesign

Hi Robert- I use Carbonite that backs up automatically to the cloud and I have an external hard drive, and a thumb drive with key files on them, and also print out monthly an excel file with any information I need if the internet goes down. 

Jul 15, 2020 08:07 PM
Jan Green - Scottsdale, AZ
Value Added Service, 602-620-2699 - Scottsdale, AZ
HomeSmart Elite Group, REALTOR®, EcoBroker, GREEN

Smart advice to keep data safe and accessible!  Like Kathy, I use Carbonite as well and have an external drive, too :) 

Jul 16, 2020 02:06 PM
Endre Barath, Jr.
Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices California Properties - Beverly Hills, CA
Realtor - Los Angeles Home Sales 310.486.1002

Pay for Carbonite and no worries.... Diane got a new Laptop... all I did was reach out to Carbonite and magically all her information 95% was transferred to her new laptop. No muss no foul...Endre

Jul 16, 2020 11:04 PM
Kristin Johnston - REALTOR®
RE/MAX Platinum - Waukesha, WI
Giving Back With Each Home Sold!

COngrats on the feature...Hoping my comment sticks since I like others are having AR issues!

Jul 19, 2020 08:15 AM
Sam Shueh
(408) 425-1601 - San Jose, CA
mba, cdpe, reopro, pe

I just backuped my computer which I have not done since the shelter in place. Even with a flash drive, the likelihood of data loss is still high.  My older laptop has not had a charge battery went to zero. I did not realize it required so much update on different products. 2.5 hours later it was up to level.

Jul 20, 2020 08:54 AM
Dorie Dillard Austin TX
Coldwell Banker Realty ~ 512.750.6899 - Austin, TX
NW Austin ~ Canyon Creek and Spicewood/Balcones

Good evening Robert Siciliano ,

You are right on the money. I pay for Carbonite and love it feeling no worries! I feel like if diaster strikes I'm covered.

Jul 20, 2020 05:23 PM
Thomas J. Nelson, REALTOR ® e-Pro CRS RCS-D Vets
Big Block Realty 858.232.8722 - La Jolla, CA
CEO of Vision Drive Realty - Coastal San Diego

I have 5 external hard drives that are backing up two desktops weekly. Two are mirrors, the other three are specific: doc files only, music only , phot/video only.

Great article, book marked!

Jul 29, 2020 10:27 PM