Data loss due to cyberattack

How do you minimize or prevent data loss in a cyberattack?

The Recovery Point Objective (RPO) is a metric that expresses the tolerable level of data loss. Generally speaking, the more critical an application is, the lower the RPO should be. To keep this value low, data must be backed up more frequently. For example, by backing up four times a day, the RPO can be reduced from a maximum of 24 hours (with a daily backup) to a maximum of six hours.

Depending on the workload, different technologies are available

In the file environment, versioning of changes and snapshot techniques are used to minimize data loss. These snapshots can also be moved to independent standby systems or to a backup system.

For database applications, low RPO values ​​are achieved through frequent log backups (e.g., every 10 minutes). Databases can also be restored by rolling forward the available logs, usually to the second, up to the point of data corruption.

Clusters and replication mechanisms make databases highly available and provide additional protection against failure

For servers and virtual machines, it's possible to implement a continuous data protection solution that sends every write access to the disks to an independent copy. Additionally, clusters and replication systems can provide independent copies that can also be protected with backup systems.