Data Loss: 5 Common Mistakes And How To Avoid Them

Data Loss Prevention and Cure

Data loss prevention is a crucial for any business, even your shared hosting company. However, mistakes do happen from an administrator standpoint which lead to the loss of important data.

This is understandable: storage devices these days are high capacity and very complex. There are bound to be errors when organizing data, but best practices can keep your data safe.

Jeff Pederson, manager of data recovery operations for Kroll Ontrack, a data recovery, ediscovery, and information management product provider, said, “With data stored in multiple locations and on multiple devices, loss at any level can be very detrimental, putting IT administrators in the hot seat to provide fast issue resolution and minimize downtime.

Under such extreme pressure, IT teams may be overlooking established ITIL best practices for IT service management in the pursuit of urgent issue resolution, leaving organizations at risk for data loss.”

Let's take a look at some common mistakes administrators make in order to assure your shared hosting company doesn't make them!

Data Loss: Failing To Document And Execute IT/Retention/Backup Procedures

This happens when either a new server is put in place but IT has no idea it is receiving data, resulting in that data not being properly backed up, or IT administrators decommissioning a server that is actually still being used, resulting in data loss.

Data Loss: Failing To Update Anti-Virus Software/OS

People do this all the time, putting off updating their software or OS due to time constraints, failing to implement the latest bug fixes and security patches. This can result in data loss or security breaches.

Data Loss: Failing To Backup Properly

Kroll Ontrack surveyed its customers, and found that 60 percent of them did have a backup plan in place when a data loss occurred, but it wasn't working properly which resulted in the data loss. If you aren't following the backup plan you've implemented and testing its functionality on a regular basis, data loss is bound to occur.

Data Loss: Deleting Data In Error

It is more common than you think: data must be recovered that was deleted because an administrator thinks the server is not being used, despite the fact it contains relevant data. It is crucial you verify the data is no longer needed prior to deletion.

Data Loss: Failing To Assure Security Policies Are Effective

To combat breaches in security and data loss, assure that only the administrators who need access have passwords, and if one leaves the company, change these passwords immediately. You'd be surprised how often a disgruntled ex-employee logs in and deletes important data!

So how can you ensure your risk of data loss is low, and if there is a problem, how can you fix it effectively?

• Make A Plan. Not only should you be setting established procedures and policies in the form of documentation, you should go back and review these procedures in order to keep them up to date. 
• Don't Panic. When data loss does occur, the worst thing to do is rush to correct the problem. Look at the issue itself and the consequences of any action you are considering taking so that you can make an informed decision regarding resolution. Hasty decisions can lead to downtime or worse — more data loss — that can add to your workload and expenses.
• Trust Your Skills. When the boss is pestering you to get systems running quickly no matter what, it is your job to act as the expert. Save them from further problems by doing what you need to do rather than doing “whatever it takes.” 
• Know The System. You should know this already, but in case you don't, you need to know what your storage network is capable of, as well as how fast you can recover if loss does occur. Know the data contained in the system as well, and what it will take in the event of a loss to restore this data.
• Call An Expert. If you run into trouble you can't seem to get out of, call in a data recovery company to help.

Have you ever experienced data loss? How did you handle it?

Photo courtesy of Kevin Krejci via Flickr Creative Commons