Ransomware, a failed disk, a deleted folder, a stolen laptop: the causes vary, but the outcome is the same. Your data is gone unless you have a copy you can trust. The 3-2-1 rule is the most widely used benchmark for whether that copy really exists.

What 3-2-1 means

• 3 copies of your data. The live data plus two backups.
• 2 different types of storage. For example, a network storage appliance in the office and a cloud backup service, so that a single fault cannot take out both.
• 1 copy off-site. Away from your premises, so that fire, flood or theft does not destroy every copy at once.

Bringing it up to date for ransomware

Modern ransomware looks for backups and tries to encrypt or delete them too. That is why many organisations now aim for 3-2-1-1-0: one copy that is immutable or offline (it cannot be altered, even by an administrator account), and zero errors when restores are tested.

Questions to ask about your own backups

1. When did we last restore a file, a mailbox and a whole machine, and how long did it take?
2. Are Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace mailboxes and files backed up separately, or are we relying on the provider’s recycle bin?
3. Could someone with a stolen administrator password delete our backups?
4. Does someone receive and act on the alert when a backup job fails?
5. How much data could we afford to lose: one hour, one day, one week?

If any of these questions is hard to answer, the backup is not yet doing its job. The good news is that a well-designed backup, combining a local appliance for fast restores with an immutable cloud copy, is neither complicated nor expensive to run once it is in place.

Let’s discuss your IT. If you would like our IT support team to look at your own environment, arrange a consultation and we will be in touch within one business day.