Column: PrivCom On World Backup Day
[Written by Office of the Privacy Commissioner for Bermuda]
World Backup Day
Did you know that 31 March is World Backup Day? World Backup Day is a semi-official ‘holiday’ and a campaign that started in 2011. Celebrated annually by the global tech and privacy industries and tech enthusiasts, it encourages us all to take the time to safeguard our most important information. World Backup Day is a great opportunity to check how safe your personal information is, to back it up and better protect it.
What is a backup?
A backup is a copy of all your important data files, such as important documents you’re working on and/or you don’t want to lose [articles, your master’s thesis or doctoral thesis etc.], your passport or ID scans, family photos and videos, emails, and text messages. To avoid the risk of losing your files in case your device breaks down or gets hacked, you keep a copy of all your data somewhere safe instead of storing it all on one device [e.g., your desktop, laptop, or smartphone].
Why are backups important?
According to the UK Government’s 2022 Cyber Security Breaches Survey, 39 percent of UK businesses had experienced a cyberattack in the past 12 months. Aligning with the National Cyber Strategy, this influential research study for UK cyber resilience explores the policies, processes, and approaches to cyber security for businesses, charities, and educational institutions. It also considers the different types of cyberattacks these organisations face, as well as how these organisations are impacted and how they respond.
Cyberattacks and similar breaches can lead – and often do – to unwanted data loss or data theft on an individual level, too. One seemingly small incident has a potential to destroy the project you are working on, your career, even your personal life. That is why regular backups are so important.
Despite the above evidence in terms of the real risks posed by cyberattacks, almost 5 percent of phones get lost or stolen every year [McAfee and Ponemon]; 21 percent of people have never made a backup [State of Backups 2021]; 30 percent of all computers are already infected with malware [Dataprot, Malware Stats 2021].
How can PIPA help?
- Once PIPA is fully enacted and implemented, individuals in Bermuda will be better protected in the event of a data breach targeting an organisation that holds your personal information.
- Organisations that have been the target of a cyberattack or other types of a data breach will be obliged to inform the affected individuals of the nature and extend of the data breach as soon as possible.
- Affected organisations will also be obliged to advise the individuals affected by the data breach on the necessary next steps they have to take in order to regain access to and safeguard the personal information that has been compromised or leaked [such as resetting the login and password to online banking and other services].
- However, this may not always be enough and individual initiatives such as backups need to go hand in hand with other preventative measures. It’s better to be safe than sorry!
It’s time to act!
If you haven’t done so this year, this month, or ever, #WorldBackupDay is the perfect opportunity to protect your personal information by creating at least one backup.
Friday 31 March 2023 is World Backup Day: the day to prevent data loss and data theft.
To find out more about how to back up your data or to take the backup pledge, go to Home | World Backup Day — March 31st.
If you require support from PrivCom before the full enactment of PIPA, call us on 543-7748, email us on engagement@privacy.bm or book a consultation with us.
Read More About
Category: All, Business, technology
