When it comes to getting hacked, it’s no longer a matter of “if” but “when.” Some of the biggest companies — including those that provide network security services — have had high-profile hacks in recent years and months. Even giants like Microsoft and Samsung have been infiltrated.
The best thing to do is accept that you may need to shift your mindset from not just trying to avoid getting hacked to preparing to minimize the impact of an attack when it happens.
The Best Protection: Frequent Backups
With the rise of ransomware attacks, everyone’s computer and data are potential targets. The best way to mitigate the effects of a ransomware attack — and any other attack that could damage your data — is to create a consistent backup system.
Why is this necessary? Often, the first phase of a ransomware attack involves stealing the target’s data. Then, once they have your most valuable information, they can use it to “twist your arm” into paying a ransom. In other words, instead of merely sending you a regular ransomware note, they send you a message outlining the various kinds of data they’ve already taken control of. They tell you they’ll destroy your data if you don’t pay the ransom immediately.
But you can eliminate their advantage by backing up your information. In effect, you say to the attackers, “Go ahead, delete my data. I have a backup. No worries.” In this way, you can avoid paying a hefty ransom.
Do You Need to Back Up Data in the Cloud?
Data in the cloud can be hacked easily. The best thing to do is to copy any cloud-based data and back it up to a different cloud solution than the one it’s currently stored in. That means if you’re using Google Drive as your main storage solution, you should back up that drive to OneDrive, Sharepoint, Dropbox, or Box. The idea is to store a continuous backup to another cloud provider as a failover solution.
When doing so, it’s important to also use different login credentials so a hacker who’s stolen your primary authentication data can’t use it to access your backup cloud storage solution as well.
What Kinds of Data Should You Back Up?
The data you choose to back up will vary depending on your business or personal needs. However, here are a few common types of data that many may want to consider backing up in preparation for a hack.
Google Workspace Files
Do you work in Google Workspace? That’s a good move, especially considering the flexibility that comes with cloud-based systems, and that the U.S. Army just announced they also selected Google Workspace as their primary cloud storage solution. That’s a huge win and a strong testament in favor of Google Workspace’s safety, flexibility and collaboration features!
With cloudHQ’s Two-Way Sync Wizard, you can easily and quickly back up information in one cloud account to another one, syncing them automatically. This includes your email as well, not just your cloud storage provider.
You also have the option of syncing multiple users at the same time. For example, if you’re an administrator for a one-cloud solution, providing it for a whole team of employees, you can sync all their information at the same time to an additional cloud, like Amazon S3.
Gmail Emails Backup
If Gmail is your go-to email solution, you provide yourself with a bevy of options of business and personal tools. However, it’s still important to back up your emails so that your business and personal life doesn’t come to a screeching halt if there’s an attack. Here are a couple of different ways of backing up your Gmail emails:
Save Emails as PDF
With cloudHQ’s Save Emails to PDF app, you can create PDFs of any email you need to. This way, you not only have an extra copy of important emails, but you also have them in a format that can be saved in any cloud storage service.
Also, if you make a habit of converting emails to PDFs, you will always have a recent copy of your most important messages ready to access when a hack happens.
If a hacker were to break into your primary email account, they could delete some or all of your correspondences. For example, if someone wanted to prevent you from using an email they sent you against them in court or during litigation proceedings, they could hire a criminal to hack your email account and permanently delete the incriminating emails.
But if you use cloudHQ’s Multi Email Forward feature, you can forward many emails — or just a few — with just a few clicks to another, more secure email inbox. By doing this, you can keep sensitive, personally important, or business-critical emails out of the hands of attackers.
The right kind of backup solution protects your data no matter what happens. With cloudHQ, you get multiple ways to protect yourself from the inevitable hack. Even though you can’t necessarily avoid getting attacked, you can minimize — or eliminate — the effects of a breach long before it happens. Learn more by connecting with cloudHQ today.