Can Cloud Data Be Lost?

It's a popular misperception that anything stored on the cloud has backups. However, while Amazon, and Google have disaster recovery plans for the data they store on their servers, is that the only way you think you’ll be affected by data loss? The likelihood of an employee erasing something they need two weeks later is higher than the likelihood of a hurricane destroying Google's computers.

In fact, SaaS applications usually aren’t the responsible party for your data loss, but they aren’t built to protect you against accidental or malicious actions either. Stated differently, if you triggered the data loss, you're usually out of luck unless you have your own backup strategy.

Data loss in cloud applications is common and can happen for a number of reasons. The top reasons for cloud data loss include:

Common causes of data loss in the cloud and how to prevent them

Cyber crime

One of the main reasons for cloud data loss is cyberattacks. With more companies using cloud services to hold critical data, hackers are creating new methods to get into these systems. While rare, advanced threats like ransomware jeopardize functionality should defenses falter, mandating safeguards like robust access controls and cautious user habits.

By being proactive and taking the required precautions to secure your cloud services, you can defend your company from cyberattacks and preserve your priceless data.If these precautions are not taken, there might be serious consequences, such disruptions, loss of private information, and expensive restoration costs.

System failure

In the cloud, system errors like hardware breakdowns or network outages can cause a large loss of data.

Considering extensive cloud dependence, downtimes from even isolated incidents may substantially impact operations should adequate data redundancy lack.

Comprehensive continuity strategies including redundant infrastructure and remote backups facilitate resilience, preserving data availability despite disruptions.

You may safeguard vital corporate information and avert the expensive ramifications of data loss by implementing the appropriate precautions to guard against system failures and guarantee data resilience.

Software corruption

In the cloud, bugs and compatibility problems are frequently the source of data loss. As companies continue implementing new technology, software instability may result in corrupted data.

The effects may be dire, especially for companies that depend on cloud services for the administration and archiving of vital data.

To reduce these risks and ensure the security and reliability of your systems, use strict software testing and quality assurance procedures along with regular software upgrades.

Strong backup and recovery techniques, such as frequent data backups and disaster recovery plans, can also guarantee that you can restore lost data from software corruption more quickly.

Insufficient backup and recovery

Insufficient preparations like infrequent archiving or inadequate contingency planning raise disruption risks for businesses, causing revenue and trust deficits if incidents restrict functionality.

Misconfigured permissions and access control

Organizations storing sensitive data on the cloud must implement strict access controls, given risks like misconfigurations enabling exposure or improper access.

To lessen these risks, your organisation should have robust access control policies in place to ensure that only authorised individuals have access to your data. Role-based access control, multiple-factor authentication, and frequent access authorization reviews are a few examples of this.

Make sure your cloud services are configured correctly, with the appropriate security settings and access limitations in place, to better protect your data.

Data expiration and retention policy violation

It's crucial to abide by data protection laws, such the GDPR, and make sure that your private data is securely disposed of when the proper amount of time has passed.

However, incorrect use of retention regulations may lead to accidental deletion or loss of data. Additionally, there's a chance that your company will keep data after it expires, which might lead to needless legal and regulatory problems.

To lessen these risks, strict criteria for data retention should be implemented. These guidelines should specify how long to store data and when to destroy it. These rules should be reviewed and updated frequently to ensure they remain relevant and helpful.

Make sure all staff members understand their obligations to abide by these standards and set up your cloud systems to enforce them as well.

Disasters

Even with all of cloud storage's advantages, natural catastrophes might still affect these services.

Data loss risks exist when unforeseen incidents physically damage infrastructure, like power failures, natural disasters or fires impacting cloud facilities. They may completely demolish or seriously damage physical data centres, which would result in data loss and service disruptions. For companies that depend on cloud services for vital data management and storage, this might have serious repercussions.

Ensure data availability through disaster recovery plans like geo-distributed redundant data centers. This facilitates quick restoration after incidents via strategies including regular backups stored offsite.

Human error

Not to mention, one of the biggest reasons why data is lost in the cloud is still human mistake. Despite the sophisticated technology and robust security measures, a simple slip-up by a staff member or user can accidentally delete critical information. This might be the consequence of a misspelling, a click gone wrong, or simply insufficient guidance on how to utilise cloud services correctly. To stop this sort of data loss, implement thorough rules that place a high priority on regular data backups, strong access controls, employee education, and awareness campaigns.

How can Cyfuture Cloud help?

The capacity of your business to function can be severely hampered by data loss, theft, or corruption. You can also be subject to fines, financial losses, and reputational damage.

Our backup manager solution helps your business stay operational. It provides a streamlined, cloud-first data protection service for physical and virtual private servers, workstations, business documents and Microsoft 365 data in one web-based dashboard.

As your IT support partner, Cyfuture Cloud can customise and implement an effective backup solution to ensure your business stays operational during a critical incident. Reach us today to discuss your needs.