- World Day of Backup It is celebrated every March 31st to raise awareness about the importance of protecting digital information
- The increase in cyberattacks, ransomware, and technical failures makes it essential to have up-to-date backups.
- Experts recommend applying strategies such as the 3-2-1-1-0 rule and using storage secure, both physical and in the cloud
- Resilience and rapid recovery capacity have become critical aspects in business environments.
March 31 marks a key date on the digital calendar: World Backup Day. This day serves as a reminder to adopt responsible habits. Data Protection, both on a personal and business level. In an era where most of our daily lives are digitalized, from photos and work documents to financial or confidential information, having updated backups It is more than a recommendation: it is a necessity.
Given the increase in threats such as malware, ransomware and human error, backups can no longer be put off until another day. The figures speak for themselves: in 2024 there were more than 5.400 ransomware attacks worldwide, and the number is expected to be even higher by 2025. These types of incidents not only affect large corporations, but also put ordinary users at risk who, due to lack of knowledge or carelessness, could lose information. irreplaceable.
Why is World Backup Day celebrated?
The initiative emerged as an awareness campaign to promote data loss prevention. Whether due to technical failures, theft, cyberattacks, or simply carelessness, the loss of important files is more common than it seems. According to data from organizations ciberseguridad, around the 30% of users have never made a backup in their life.
And it's not just computers: mobile phones are another of the great forgotten ones. Over 500.000 cell phones stolen annually in countries like Chile alone, and a large portion of users who don't know how to back up their information, the risk is increasing. Loss of photos, contacts, personal documents, and other essential information can be avoided with a regular backup.
Ransomware and other threats: invisible enemies
Ransomware remains one of the most feared threats in the digital world. This type of malware encrypts all user or company data and demands a ransom to release it. But even with payment, recovery isn't always guaranteed. This is where having a immutable and up-to-date backup becomes the lifeline.
One of the biggest problems today is that cybercriminals are also directly attacking backups. They try to access, delete, or encrypt them to prevent the information from being easily recovered. For this reason, experts emphasize the need to implement immutable copies, which cannot be modified or deleted, even if you have administrative access.
And it's not just large organizations: more and more ordinary users are suffering similar attacks. Whether it's from downloading illegal software, accessing malicious links, or not having minimal security measures, we're all exposed. Backup, therefore, becomes a key defense tool, at the same level as an antivirus.
Rules and strategies for making an effective backup
One of the most common recommendations in the world of cybersecurity is the 3-2-1 rule. This consists of keeping at least three copies of the information (one original and two additional), in two different types of Media (for example, an external drive and the cloud), and at least one of them is outside the usual storage location.
Variants such as 3-2-1-1-0 have been added to this rule, This includes an additional immutable copy and periodic verification that the backups are error-free. The purpose is to ensure that in the event of a disaster, technical failure, or cyberattack, a copy exists. reliable and accessible from which to recover everything lost.
It is also essential to encrypt sensitive files, Whether they're in the cloud or on physical devices. An unencrypted backup can be a risk if it falls into the wrong hands. That's why there are tools that allow you to password protect backup or implement advanced encryption to ensure privacy.
Business Backup: Beyond a Simple Copy
For companies, especially those in the financial, healthcare, and public administration sectors, having a backup isn't enough: they must also be able to recover in record time. Legislation such as the Digital Operational Resilience Act (DORA) in the European Union requires certain entities to be able to restore critical services in less than two hours.
This has driven the development of more advanced solutions that enable ultra-fast restores, even of hundreds of terabytes in just a few hours. New technologies such as type storage flash or storage as a service (STaaS) are revolutionizing business backup, offering recovery guarantees against ransomware attacks through service level agreements.
An increasingly common aspect is that backup systems are independent of the main infrastructure, so that if a storage array is affected by an attack or forensic investigation, recovery can be done from another location with a functional replica.
The human factor and digital education
Although technology evolves, human error remains a leading cause of data loss. From inadvertently deleting important files to not properly setting up automatic backups, ignorance and a lack of digital literacy are common problems.
Recent studies indicate that nearly half of users don't know how to back up their mobile phone or aren't sure what information they should back up. This is where digital education and awareness come into play, especially on dates like March 31, which invite us to stop for a moment and take concrete actions to improve the personal and professional security.
The role that can be played by the Artificial Intelligence in improving backup processes, optimizing There and helping to assess which data is critical or is being backed up properly.
In an environment of growing threats and exponential digitalization, backing up and protecting our data should not just be a one-off activity, but a habit incorporated into our daily routine. From saving an important file to a flash drive to maintaining an automated business backup system, every step counts and can make a difference when you least expect it.
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