Why Is It Necessary For An SME To Backup In The Cloud?

Cybersecurity is everyone’s business, not just large companies, SMEs are the target of more than 43% of attacks, and despite this they protect themselves much less and resist backing up in the cloud. We review some cases of large losses generated by cyberattacks and how we can avoid them with cybersecurity tools and backup in the cloud.

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The Situation Of Companies Before Hackers

Despite the increasingly frequent cases of companies whose data has been damaged or hijacked, in Spain there are still many companies that only have a backup copy in the same facilities and are reluctant to backup in the cloud.

Normally, when someone has entered our house to rob, the expression is usually of panic when discovering it:

However, only a lack of business culture means that we are not more aware of the risk that our company data entails being exposed, in one way or another, to planned and executed attacks, in many cases, with the aim of extorting us through a ransomware. Four years ago, a shocking study by Kaspersky Lab and Ponemon Institute showed that 60% of small and medium-sized businesses that experience attacks end up disappearing within six months.

Therefore, the expression should be the same, even more dramatic, when we suffer a cyberattack, and the security measures the same or greater than for physical goods.

Some Examples Of Attacks On Companies

In 2016, Yahoo confessed that it had been attacked three years ago (2013) and 3,000 million profile data had been leaked: email addresses, passwords, names and surnames, birthday dates, telephone numbers, … One of the biggest hacks of history.

The cyberattack on SONY in 2014 resulted in cancellations of filming and premieres, unpublished revelations from the industry, and losses that reached 200 million dollars.

In 2015, Ashley Madison, a website dedicated to offering relationships with lovers to already committed people, suffered the theft of data from 39 million profiles. The case was serious, because data from users, celebrities and politicians among others were published.

A technology company with important security measures, could not prevent a WannaCry attack in 2018, like many other international companies and organizations.

This year, the hack of the hypermarket chain TESCO led to theft of money from the bank accounts of 20,000 customers.

Creepy, Right?

The fact that it is the cases of these large companies that come to light does not mean that a small company is free from attack. The Kaspe crsky Lab and Ponemon Institute study cited indicates that 43% of attacks target SMEs.

Cybersecurity Recommendations

To avoid these problems, the experts make us some recommendations:

Install only programs from solvent sources.
Regularly perform system and program updates.
Carry out regular awareness and training campaigns for employees.
Control external devices introduced into the company (security policy for BYOD -Bring your own device-)
Have a good antivirus and antimalware.
Continuous monitoring of the network and company traffic.
Ensure the perimeter security of your company and have cyberprotection on your own data.
Back up to two different locations, one of them outside the company.

For the first four points, the IT or IT team of the company is essential. Your policies for installing and updating systems and educating and training employees are critical to preventing attacks. For the last four points, it is essential to have an EDR ( Endpoint Continuous Monitoring and Analysis System -devices that connect to the network-) and make backup in the cloud.

Why Backup To The Cloud?

A backup in the cloud, when offered by a solvent company, will not only provide you with the backup, you will also have a cyber-protection system against malware and ransonmware in the data storage. And of course, a disaster recovery plan, which ensures that your data is safe and you can continue working in the event of an attack … Because protection is useless when hackers manage to enter and destroy your data or encrypt it and you they ask for a ransom for them. Can you imagine the situation if you don’t have a backup?

A Professional Cloud Backup Solution

Of course, there are many Cybersecurity providers. At Extra Software, we have opted for cyber protection and backup systems in the Acronis cloud. We have partnered with a first-rate manufacturer, because we are convinced by the technology they use.

AES-256 military grade encryption for data in storage or transit.
SSAE-18 certified security, the best disaster prevention technology.
Tier IV designed data centers.
Artificial Intelligence Technology vs. Ransomware.

The other reason why we have chosen it is because it has two different licensing systems: Per-GB Model, in which you only pay for the data you save, and Per-Workload Model, in which you pay for the load of work that protects itself. In this way, you make sure that the information you keep that you consider really valuable in your company. Lastly, the backup system is also flexible. You can work with cloud backup with full, differential or incremental copies, or a combination of them.

With a system like this, you will have no problem and you will be able to sleep peacefully and without fear that an attack will destroy your company in six months.