Protecting mission critical Information is vital to all businesses not just corporates!
by Nigel Groser
Unfortunately all the statistics available seem to prove the opposite, according to Keith Noddles article in the March 2003 issue of Unisys World Data Security: Risk Management, less than 30 percent of all PC users backup their data.
If you consider this worrying statistic in conjunction with the fact that 60% of companies that lose their data close down within 6 months of the disaster, I am sure you will come to the same conclusion as I did, backing up your company data is paramount.
So why dont we? Is it cost, lack of knowledge or simply not recognising the risk? Well the risk is quite simple to ascertain.
Clearly the second most damaging form of data loss is laptop theft, notebooks are and will probably remain, the foremost tool used by most organisations. However, due to their inherent mobility they are one of the most risky forms of data storage. Of course there are other risks to your information:
A hard drive crashes every 15 seconds.
32% of data loss is caused by human error.
31% of PC users have lost all of their PC files to events beyond their control.
25% of lost data is due to the failure of a portable drive.
1 in 5 computers suffer a fatal hard drive crash during their lifetime.
Tapes and disks can be mislaid, corrupted or stolen, thereby disabling your company.
Insurance of business data is expensive, and in certain countries, insurance companies will not insure data.
So now we understand the risk, so how do we know what to backup? Well you wont go far wrong if you ask yourself these questions:
- What do I have that I don't want to lose?
- What is the chance of losing it?
- What is the impact of the loss?
- What can I afford to implement to protect against loss (or more accurately what can't I afford to lose)?
At Chevron Services we have investigated most if not all the methods for backing up your mission critical information. We have found that there are several key areas that must be fulfilled before a company invests and implements a back up policy.
Firstly, it wants privacy, all companies need to know that their data will not be open to any unauthorised people. We encrypt the data at source and also store all the data fully encrypted. The only person who can read this information is the customer when they retrieve their backed up information.
There are three levels of data encryption available to you the customer. By default, the system installs to the most secure encryption algorithm available today.Pentium-based machines can easily cope with this level of encryption.
Secure Blowfish (default) The Blowfish algorithm uses a massive 448-bit encryption key and is the most secure of the available algorithms. This strength is comparable to military-grade encryption.
Triple-DES This algorithm uses a 192-bit key length and provides very strong protection. This is much stronger than the DES algorithm. This is stronger than the encryption used at banks.
Ordinary-DES This algorithm uses a 128-bit key length and provides strong encryption. The DES algorithm was the encryption standard for the government for 20 years. This is typically the encryption strength used at banks.
Secondly, the customer wants complete automation, keeping their staff busy on profitable endeavours, rather than this mundane task, along with automation they need simplicity, especially if there is no IT support internally. Therefore, we have made selecting files for backup quick and easy with a familiar Windows-based interface.
Click the checkboxes for the files or directories you want backed up at the scheduled time, scheduling is also nice and simple. And that's it! The scheduler will now automatically include these files in the offsite backup!
Thirdly, our customers require access to their information, anywhere, anytime and in quick time.
Restoring data with Chevron Services is easy. Just select the files/directories you want and click Restore! You choose whether to restore to the original directory or to a temporary one. Once again a log file is generated for your records.
Auto-Archive
Chevron Services can keep as many versions of a file as you want - keeping each version as long as you want, even stretching back over years! So if your database becomes corrupt, and you need to restore a version from three months ago, you simply select that version to restore!
Fast Data Shipping Service
If you have a slow internet connection, or a lot of data to restore, we can courier your data (still encrypted) direct to you on a variety of different formats.
We are here to be your Data Lifeline
Formats supported:-
- CD
- Zip disks
- And for a bulk requirement, a fast-restoring PC with a 10/100Mb network card
Lastly our customers require all the above at a price they can afford, we understand that value is important. By using a tried and tested technology, software patching to speed your backup dramatically, we save you time and money.
How does it work?
Imagine you have a Word or Excel file or an Accounts package i.e. Sage, where you have just changed a few words or figures. There is no need to backup the whole file, just the changes are needed - this is exactly what our Patching Technology does - and it means that backups take a fraction of the time you would expect. You can always keep track of how efficient your backups are via your online information panel.
Compression
In addition to the Patch technology Chevron uses strong data compression to ensure that the backup is as efficient as possible. Your information is then stored in a compressed encrypted state and mirrored across four different storage sites for increased peace of mind.
Price
Chevron Services have arranged a specially discounted price list, starting at as little as £10 per month for 800mb of storage, which will be sent to all Security International enquiries. We also know that seeing is believing and that is why we are offering all Security International Subscribers a Free 14 day trial, just contact (put Security International Offer in subject area) to take advantage of this offer.