Six Articles on Electronic - Craig Ball
Six Articles on Electronic - Craig Ball
Six Articles on Electronic - Craig Ball
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<strong>Craig</strong> <strong>Ball</strong> © 2007<br />
areas cord<strong>on</strong>ed off to prevent looting or loss of basic services, like electricity and<br />
telecommunicati<strong>on</strong>s. You've got to have an accessible back up.<br />
Katrina forced firms across the Gulf Coast to come to grips with flawed backup practices. Many<br />
had no backup system at all. Others were horrified to discover that never-tested backup tapes<br />
were useless. The proliferati<strong>on</strong> of data <strong>on</strong> desktop drives and laptops off the backup grid meant<br />
that even those diligent about backup suffered data loss. Still others found to their dismay that<br />
backups stored in the same city were kept too close.<br />
Less<strong>on</strong>s Learned<br />
Whether the risk is hurricane, earthquake, fire, flood, terrorism, theft or disgruntled IT pers<strong>on</strong>, no<br />
firm is bey<strong>on</strong>d disaster's reach. Here are steps to help weather the storm:<br />
1. Back up critical data…regularly, thoroughly, obsessively.<br />
2. Do periodic test restores of backed up data.<br />
3. Ensure that key data <strong>on</strong> laptops and desktops is captured.<br />
4. Mass disasters claim entire regi<strong>on</strong>s, so store backed up data out of harm's way. C<strong>on</strong>sider<br />
<strong>on</strong>line back- up, which safely ensc<strong>on</strong>ces data in distant servers, accessible via high-speed net<br />
c<strong>on</strong>necti<strong>on</strong> from anywhere.<br />
5. Know the answer to, "What would I grab if I had to leave right now?" Prepare for "grab and<br />
go" emergencies by using removable disk drive drawers or external hard drives.<br />
Keep anti-static drive packaging and watertight c<strong>on</strong>tainers <strong>on</strong> hand. For desktops, c<strong>on</strong>sider<br />
simple and inexpensive RAID c<strong>on</strong>figurati<strong>on</strong>s to make grab and go practical (see "Peace of Mind<br />
for a Pittance," in the March issue of Law Technology News, March 2005).<br />
6. Encrypt the back up. Recent high-profile breaches of data security stemmed from poor<br />
management of backup media. Be sure your data back- ups are safe from prying eyes and that<br />
several in the firm know the encrypti<strong>on</strong> key. A backup you can't decrypt might as well have<br />
washed away.<br />
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