Research has revealed that over the years, there has been a considerable increase in the number people using computers and the amount of data stored on computers. Almost 46 million of them have lost data due to theft or system crashes. The “State of Internet Security: Protecting Your Digital Life” report conducted by Webroot has revealed that since PC’s were vulnerable to hardware failure, software corruption or human error, data loss was common and hence left many organizations vulnerable.

According to Senior Vice President of Webroot, Paul Lipman, their research has shown that almost 90 people experienced data loss per minute last year and since computers focus on storing data rather than protecting it, necessary steps must be taken to protect data.

Conventional storage devices like CD’s, DVD’s or hard disks are not the answer since they are also vulnerable to physical damage and loss. They can be stolen or lost easily leading to the loss of a vast amount of valuable data.

Companies have recognised this problem in data storage and have set up online backups. All you need is a computer and a decent Internet connection.

You can open an account on the required website and store all your data in an ‘online vault’. As your data is backed up and updated every day, you can be sure that in case of data loss, all you would need to do is simply download the files and restore your data within minutes.

The eBay scandal that happened in August this year is well known to all, where an employee of a bank stole the personal data of a million customers on a hard drive. This data, which was later recovered, could have spelt the death of 3 banks and an overall loss to the tune of billions if it had fallen in the hands of a hacker of a thief.

This speaks volumes about the loopholes in conventional data storage which does not offer any kind of protection.

People normally store their data on computer hard drives, removable media or portable hard disks. If you have data in your computer that is highly confidential and/or important to you then storing data in these storage devices is not a safe option. These storage devices are not reliable as they can get tampered, corrupt, stolen or lost at any time.

Computers are electronic devices, so they can break down at any given point of time. There are chances that your computer gets infected with a virus and the only solution at that time would be to format the hard drive. There are even possibilities that your data gets deleted accidentally. Although there is recovery software available but the process is very time consuming and requires professional help.

The best way of storing data is online data storage. By using online data storage services, you can automatically update all the new files that you have added in your computer. Online data storage service also allows you to choose the time when you want to upload the data online.

Data is automatically updated on the server of online data backup company.

Online data storage service provides unlimited data storage space. You would no longer have to purchase CDs and DVDs store data.

Technology comes at a price and many have experienced it. Computers are everywhere with today’s work culture and huge amounts of valuable information are stored in computer hard disks and hard drives as digital data. This data may or may not be sensitive, but since a single computer can hold more information than an entire library, one cannot leave the safety of data to chance.

According to the Data Loss Barometer by KPMG, 1034 data loss incidents were reported between 2005 and June 2008 with over 280 million people having lost their data and other valuable information stored on conventional storage devices like CD’s, DVD’s etc. Most of this information was related to the public sector, there are a few more incidents expected in the private sector that have not been made public.
This highlights how susceptible to loss data is due to theft and robbery. A year’s hard work could be lost within a matter of seconds. Of course, there are the standard backup devices like CD’s, DVD’s etc. but these conventional storage devices are also vulnerable to physical damage and breakage.

All these problems can easily be prevented with online data backup. With online back up, you can now backup your data on the internet where data is no longer vulnerable to any physical damage. All that you need is a computer and an internet connection to get started and store your data safely.

Inspired from the recent data loss, NHS Lothian has signed a deal with a security outfit for encrypting their data. One member from the staff broke the data guidelines with the help of a personal memory stick and took all the information of patients.

According to the Martin Egan, director of the eHealth with NHS Lothian, after a staff member broke the data guidelines, they realised the risk and likelihood of data loss. He also added that policy alone is not sufficient for protecting a sensitive data; you should have the right data storage methods.

They believed that they need a technological solution that rather forces policy other than leaving it up to individual choice. Egan also subjects to call for USB ports to be entirely blocked.

The best way to protect data is storing it online, instead of storing them on machines where anyone can access it easily. Online data backup is the best backup service that stores your data securely.
There is always a probability that data gets lost from your machines because of hard drive corruption or theft. Therefore you should always have online data backup. Online data backup is password protected therefore no one else can delete or edit your data.

Portable data storage devices have been quite a hit as, unlike cumbersome floppy disks, CDs and DVDs, you can carry around large amounts of data easily. This also meant that a thief could easily steal your storage hardware like pen drives, portable hard disks etc.

Recently, a box that belonged to UK insurance provider, Prudential, fell out of the courier van when it was being delivered to its head quarters. This data contained private details such as the bank numbers, cheque numbers and other information that was related to investments to the tune of a million pounds. This box also contained details of three lottery winners who would not be considering themselves so lucky now.

This incident has further highlighted the importance of data backup and online data storage. Even if you manage to save and protect your data from potential thieves and data loss, this form of storage is still susceptible to physical harm. This is why online backup has become so important.

With online back up, you can now store all you data on the internet and never have worry about it getting physically damaged or stolen. To get started, all you need is an online data backup and online data storage service and decide the data that you want to backup.

Losing valuable data is one of our worst nightmares. Many times people have lost their data, either due to a device malfunction or human error. Over the past few years data loss has been one of the biggest problems faced by many organisations.

As per a recent survey carried out by KPMG, the results were far more shocking. This survey revealed that more than 280 million people have been affected worldwide in the past three years. There have been a significant number of cases in the UK alone. Many of the private organisations as well as government organisations have lost their valuable data.

This survey also revealed that amongst the registered cases; 46% of people were not having a password protection or any kind of encryption.

Surprisingly, health care and education bodies topped in the list of vulnerable sectors, with financial services next worst. Up to June 2008, more than 1000 separate incidents have been reported.

Malcolm Marshall, a partner with KPMG, had recently commented on this report. He said that these data loss incidents pose serious threat to most organisations across every business sector. With such incidents the customer’s trust can be damaged very seriously. It also creates a bad impact on the brand reputation value.

By having online data backup and online data storage service, companies can easily avoid such incidents.

The tables could have turned on the Justice staff, for once they may not be the one proclaiming the verdict; instead they were almost the ones with the verdict thrust upon them on the 7th of September 2008. Details of the employees of the National Offender Management Service in England had their details stolen from the private firm EDS that had them, apparently, secure.

The data of this value was stored on conventional storage devices like pen drives, hard disks etc. and was password protected. This incident highlights how vulnerable and susceptible data is to theft. With new technology, such conventional storage devices have become obsolete for storing personal information and a new form of data storage has come into the picture, online storage. Companies have harnessed the power of the internet and now you have an ‘online vault’ where you can now save all your valuable information. Online storage is safer as compared to portable storage devices like memory sticks, pen drives, laptops etc.

All that you need is an internet connection to upload your data and files and you are all set to go, even in the event of a data loss! As data is stored in real time, you can retrieve the latest and most updated data.

According to a recent research done by Storage Expo, organisations that need to store their data are facing problems on how to implement the right disaster recovery strategy. Around 83% of the business organisations are suffering from this problem. Besides this, the other important thing that was covered in this research was ensuring data security for businesses. The research covered over 252 business organisations.

The important thing that was found in this research was the management of increasing the volume of data. Centralising the data was a thing of concern for around 79% of the respondents. 77% of the organisations wanted to know how to store their data in a cost effective way.

Centralising data access was a concern for around 79% of the organisations. 68% of the organisations ensured compliance with the latest data storage legislation and knew about which regulations to comply. Achieving interoperability across existing storage solutions was an issue for around 60% of the organisations. As data storage volumes are still growing around 50% per annum, the need for efficient and effective storage architecture has grown tremendously. Online data storage and online data backup is the best solution for all these concerns.

There have been a number of data loss incidents in the past one year. Yet companies and organisations continue to store their valuable and important data on conventional storage devices and hardware like pen drives, hard disks, DVD’s, CD’s etc. The recent eBay scandal should serve as an eye opener that companies must change over to online backup. On the 27th of August, 2008, an employee of a bank stole the personal data of a million customers, copied it over to a hard drive and sold it on eBay.

This data was recovered later. However, if it had fallen into the wrong hands it could have seriously jeopardised 3 banks and money loss of over a million people to the tune of almost billions of pounds. Such an incident is proof enough of how easily data stored on CD’s or DVD’s could be exploited.

The solution lies in storing your data on the Internet and many companies have already started using this service. All you need is an internet connection and you are all set to go. Create an account and schedule the uploading of your data as per your requirements. The online backup and data storage software will let you know if your upload has been successful. In the even of a data loss, all you have to do is download your data and start off from where you left.

In a recent study by KPMG, it was found that over 280 million people have been victims of data loss. This loss is not restricted to the UK but has also occurred all over the world. A large part of this lost data had confidential and personal information of individuals. The study found that 62 percent of these incidents happened due to carelessness and data being lost rather than being stolen.

Another finding stated that 46 percent of these data loss incidents took place because there was no encryption. Every organisation holds its information as the reason for its survival and loss of this information can result in very serious problems, even bankruptcy. This makes it important for every company to have online data backup and ensure the smooth running of business operations.

Online and offsite data backup is commonly used today and serves the purpose of encrypting and protecting data securely. The only step a company owner has to do is to contact an online backup company. Should anything happen to the existing data, it can quickly be restored from anywhere at anytime and the company can carry on with its operations without any disruptions. Online data backup is important to ensure the continuity of a company, especially after considering so many data loss incidents in the past year.