3 real-world examples of data loss

Companies lose data all the time. At this point, it’s just a normal part of running a business.

But that doesn’t necessarily mean it has to be.

If your team simply understands how data loss happens, then you’ll be one step closer to avoiding permanent (and even temporary) data loss.

To steer you in the right direction, here are 3 real-world examples of data loss and helpful suggestions on how to avoid those situations in your business.

Hardware complications

31% of IT pros say the main cause of data loss is hardware failure. That’s a big problem. Especially since a majority of people tend to assume natural disasters and data breaches are the only causes of data loss.

But just imagine it. Your server has a bad day and — bam — everything is wiped out. If you don’t have copies of that data elsewhere, you’re seriously out of luck.

This should tell you two things:

Keep your hardware healthy. Track down an IT provider that can help you maintain it with the necessary upgrades and updates. That way, you can reduce the potential for hardware complications.
Back up your data. That’s right. BACK IT UP. If you don’t and something happens to your data, then your business will suffer big time. Guaranteed.

Online threats

Notice how natural disasters aren’t listed here? That’s because they shouldn’t be.

While a natural disaster can do some serious damage to data, that’s only if you’re in an area typically affected by tornadoes, hurricanes, and massive earthquakes. And even if you are, it’s such a rare occurrence that the likelihood of your data actually being affected is slim.

Instead, you should turn your attention toward the Cyber Wild West. Now that’s where things really start to get ugly.

29% of data loss stems from viruses or malware. — StorageCraft

Whether we’re talking ransomware, malvertising, or just a run-of-the-mill virus, these bad boys can do some real harm to your data. They’ll take it, corrupt it, and never give it back.

This being said, it’s important to secure your data — layer on the protection and partner with a managed security provider.

But aside from that, you also need to — yup, you guessed it — back up your data. Even with a solid security solution, new cyber threats pop up every day. If something real nasty pops up, your data will be in for a ride it never wanted to take. The proper backup solution can make sure your data finds its way back home.

Lost, broken, or stolen devices

How many times have you lost or broken a phone or laptop? And how many times has a device just up and disappeared on you?

Probably more times than you’d like to admit — which is why this is yet another leading cause of data loss.

When you lose a device, you also lose everything on that device. Well … unless it’s backed up somewhere. But again, not everyone is faithfully backing up their connected devices — and the rise in mobility has a little something to do with this.

With so many different devices floating around with your company information, it’s almost impossible to determine what data is where and what parts are actually backed up. Because of this, it’s incredibly important to create a Mobile Device Management policy and to restrict access to your most sensitive data.

Obviously, this is just the very beginning of the list of threats to your data. In fact, this list could probably go on forever — but no one has time for that, right?

Instead, why don’t you just start with this list of nine …