TECH TRENDS

Over three-quarters of organisations which experience a cyberattack end up failing within three years. This highlights the need to protect their number one asset, which is the data they are built on. The 3-2-1 rule recommends having three copies of data, two different media and one off-site copy. However, Chad Chiang, Managing Director at Synology UK, believes organisations need to extend this to add a further one copy of data which is offline or immutable and ensures zero errors, giving the assurance to security teams that they can recover with confidence.

The long-standing 3-2-1 backup rule has served as a gold standard for data protection. However, organisations must go further to ensure they can recover from attacks and system failures with absolute confidence. Businesses should instead consider an evolved strategy – the 3-2- 1-1-0 backup rule.

This enhanced approach provides an extra layer of assurance, adding an immutable or offline backup copy and ensuring zero errors in the backup process. This additional safeguard is crucial in an era where more destructive cyberthreats are emerging, making conventional backup methods insufficient.

Why businesses need a 3-2-1-1-0 strategy

The modern era of AI-powered cyberthreats, particularly around ransomware and data corruption, requires a more robust approach to data protection.

The 3-2-1 backup rule – three copies of data, two different media types and one off-site copy – has long been widely recommended by cybersecurity professionals as a reliable approach to safeguarding critical data.

While this strategy has been effective in mitigating common risks, the evolving cyberthreat landscape demands an additional layer of security. So this is why, in addition to the above, organisations need to add one additional immutable or offline copy, which shields against ransomware and unauthorised modifications, as well as zero errors in backups, ensuring data integrity for seamless restoration.

Each component plays a crucial role in strengthening an organisation’ s ability to recover from disasters, including cyberattacks, hardware failures and accidental deletions.

The importance of an immutable or offline copy

Cybercriminals have grown more sophisticated, targeting backups as part of their attacks. Modern ransomware doesn’ t just encrypt primary data but also attempts to corrupt backup files, leaving businesses with no means of recovery. By incorporating an additional immutable or offline backup, organisations ensure that at least one copy of their data remains untouchable.

Immutable backups prevent any modifications once data has been written, rendering them immune to ransomware attacks. Offline backups, such as air-gapped storage solutions, physically

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