Data protection is hot topic with GDPR, however do companies consider protecting their data from water damage?
We’re featured in Custodial Review Magazine this month discussing it.
You can see the article on page 16 here > https://www.custodialreview.co.uk/3dissue/custodial86/index.html
Here is the article excerpt:
Data Protection and Flooding
In a world where information technology is used in nearly every workplace and home, the protection of data has become a global priority. IT operations and data centres are a crucial aspect of business and organisational operations around the world. One of the main concerns is business continuity; companies rely on their information systems to run their operations. If a system becomes unavailable, company operations may be impaired or stopped completely.
To protect data and ensure system functionality, safeguarding tools are widely available. Basic data protection guidance advises on the use of passphrases over passwords, using anti-malware software, setting up firewalls and keeping up to date with system updates. These measures make it more difficult for data to be stolen, manipulated or utilised for unintended uses and keeps companies running.
To further protect data, encryption should be used, and in today’s world, there are many levels of encryption that can be applied. Data centres utilise the latest CCTV and security systems to protect their bases from unwanted intruders.
All of the measures mentioned above focus on the protection of data from others, however, is the threat of floodwater ever considered?
Floodwaters, from burst water pipes or natural disasters, threaten the security of data and operational continuity. Alarming statistics released by CNBC in 2017 show that 40% of small businesses never recover from a disaster such as flooding. IT equipment and data are both at risk.
Years, even decades of software development, customisations and valuable data, can be wiped without a trace after a flood. Every property is at some risk of flooding, whether it be from a river, a burst pipe, or even a leaking roof.
To help protect your business or property from flooding and reduce the potential impacts, cables and computers should be planned and ideally raised above the ground. Data should also be backed up, in case of water damage to main servers. It should be backed up to an offsite storage facility such as a cloud environment, to avoid data being affected by the same flood event. Data is then available to access from other computers and there are even services available which will load your backed-up data onto a new hard drive and deliver it to you.
Most server rooms have some form of ventilation or climate control, yet very few use water detectors and almost none have alerting for flooding. Water detectors can alert of flood risks before any equipment damage and subsequent data loss occurs. Once a leak is detected, it is imperative to have a plan in place to deal with floodwater or leaks and prevent further damage.
To deal with larger floods, companies need to have options at their disposal to actively deal with floodwaters. Temporary barriers, which can be deployed in minutes and stored in limited space, can help prevent floodwaters from entering the most vulnerable areas. Water pumps allow for rapid removal of floodwaters to safe areas. These measures offer companies ways of mitigating the effects of floodwaters, and minimise the impact on data servers, allowing the business to return to full functionality quicker and without loss.