In the past, small and medium businesses (SMBs) protected their data by implementing and maintaining a backup procedure. Past implementations have relied on local, physical media, generally magnetic tape systems for archiving. Generally, the person responsible for the backups would have to follow the process, consisting of swapping out one or more tapes daily and taking one or more of these to an offsite location in case of disaster.
There were some disadvantages to this data backup method, including the following:
- Backup tapes were not swapped due to absence or neglect.
- Backup tapes were all stored onsite and were all destroyed along with the original data.
- Backup tapes taken offsite (to a user’s home) were stolen, giving access to corporate data.
- Backup tapes were not readable when needed.
- Backup files were not encrypted.
In addition to the above concerns regarding business data backups, new legislation was put in place that required additional stipulations for some industries. The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) for example, requires medical facilities to not only backup their data, but to retain an offsite copy in case of emergency. Unencrypted backup media stored at someone’s personal home is now being recognized as an unsecure practice.
Some SMBs use an offsite datacenter to store their backup media, which can be costly and usually requires delivery of the tapes to the location.
Online backup streamlines the backup process by eliminating certain steps. By backing up over the Internet to a secure site, businesses eliminate costly tape drives, media and other standard backup equipment. As a bonus, their backups are already located offsite.
Most online backup resellers and services heavily encrypt user data through all stages of the transaction, from initial backups to file restoration. Backups are stored on a server, and usually replicated to another offsite storage facility, often in a completely separate geographic region. Businesses in hard hit areas like New Orleans learned that an offsite backup stored just a few miles away could be destroyed in the same disaster.
The biggest hurdle to widespread adoption of online backup services has been the issue of security. Laypersons think of the Internet as a very insecure place, which is correct in some respects. Unprotected data placed on the Internet is unprotected and available to the world. Online backup resellers and services go to great lengths to encrypt data. In most cases, the online backup software (or client) located on the user’s machine encrypts all files before they leave the user’s location. They are stored on a server (which is not really the Internet) and are sent back via backup restores as an encrypted file. Better online backup providers do not know the highly secure password you have put on your files (called an ‘encryption key’). For their own benefit and safety, they generally wouldn’t take your password if you wanted to give it to them.
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