Keeping your backup data secure is essential to protect your business from the damaging effects of cyberattacks, accidental loss, or system failures. Backups are copies of your important files and systems, stored separately so you can restore them if the originals are lost or corrupted. However, if these backups are not properly secured, hackers can target them to steal sensitive information or even hold your data to ransom.
Why this matters for UK SMEs
For small and medium-sized businesses in the UK, losing access to data can cause significant downtime, disrupt staff productivity, and damage customer trust. Additionally, if your business handles personal data, you have legal responsibilities under the UK GDPR and Data Protection Act 2018 to keep that data safe. Poorly protected backups can lead to data breaches, resulting in regulatory scrutiny from the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) and potential fines. Ensuring your backups are secure is therefore not just about operational resilience but also about compliance and reputation.
A typical scenario
Consider a UK SME with around 50 employees that relies on a managed IT provider for its backup and disaster recovery. The company uses cloud backups to store daily snapshots of its data. One day, a ransomware attack encrypts their live systems. Because the backups were isolated with strong access controls and multi-factor authentication (MFA), the IT provider quickly restores the clean data, minimising downtime. Without these security measures, the attackers could have accessed or destroyed the backups, leaving the business unable to recover and facing extended disruption.
Practical steps to keep backup data secure
- Ask your IT provider: How are backups stored and protected? Do they use encryption both in transit and at rest? Is multi-factor authentication (MFA) enabled for backup access?
- Check access controls: Who can access backup data? Ensure only authorised personnel have permissions, and review these regularly.
- Verify backup isolation: Backups should be stored separately from live systems, ideally offsite or in a secure cloud environment, to prevent simultaneous compromise.
- Review backup retention and testing: Confirm backups are kept for an appropriate period and that regular restore tests are performed to ensure data integrity.
- Implement strong password policies: Use complex passwords for backup accounts and change them periodically.
- Maintain audit logs: Ensure your provider keeps detailed logs of backup access and changes, which helps with monitoring and compliance audits.
- Consider Cyber Essentials or ISO 27001: Providers certified under these schemes demonstrate adherence to recognised security standards.
Common pitfalls to avoid
Many SMEs underestimate the risk of leaving backup systems exposed with weak passwords or no MFA. Others rely on a single backup location, which can be compromised alongside live systems. Failing to regularly test backups can also mean discovering corrupt or incomplete data only when it's too late.
Backing up data is only part of the solution; securing those backups is equally important to ensure your business can recover swiftly from incidents without regulatory or reputational damage.
If you're unsure about your current backup security, it's wise to consult a trusted managed IT provider or IT advisor. They can review your backup strategy, recommend improvements, and help align your practices with UK security standards and compliance requirements.