| Business Backup
- Solicitors
Members of the legal profession do not need to be told
about the importance of and risk associated with the
management of computer data. Many however, do need to
be informed about the unnecessary risk associated with
tape and U.S.B. Systems. More still have important questions
about online backup which need answering.
The issue of tape as a prime data backup system is
of great significance to the legal profession as many
small practices still depend on tape systems today.
(Date of print Dec 07)
So, what is wrong with tape?
Tape is an antiquated, high risk, user intensive, manual
solution for a process which should be secure and automated.
Why is tape suddenly non gratis
despite decades of service?
Tape always had these weaknesses. They have been apparent
for some time. Technical and financial restrictions
coupled with a previously lower dependence on computer
systems and lack of a killer application for backup
left a space to be filled. Today, the dependence, even
ubiquitousness of computers has led to the risk associated
with computer data to be taken far more seriously at
end user practice and government legislation levels.
In addition, as a consequence of communications improvements
and in particular broadband uptake, online backup (previously
the domain of large corporations) has become a viable
option for even the smallest legal practice.
The vanguard period of online backup for small business
was in 2005. Now (late 2007) it is the norm for businesses
of all sizes where data retention is imperative. By
late 2008 it is expected to be the norm for business
in general.
Some on-line backup issues concerning
solicitors.
Our main links page list considerable documentation
with reference to online backup and aspects of concern
to all groups. It is recommended you peruse these documents
as here we are focusing on some key areas only.
Security and confidentiality concerns
for solicitors.
This should be the number one concern for any business.
Its significance is all the more glaring in the case
of a solicitors office. Every solicitors office processes
and stores data of a highly confidential and personal
nature for a large number of people. Any breach intentional
or accidental is likely detrimental to clients and practice.
All reputable online backup systems come with encryption.
When examining this, there are two very important questions
which need asking.
- What level of encryption is used?
Encryption has been around a long time. The Egyptians
encrypted messages on stone tablets long before you
got your first computer. Don't just accept any level
of encryption. The level increases over time to avoid
code cracking by faster and faster super computers.
We at backup anytime support all major scientific
encryption levels. This means that you can go with
our default encryption which is bank level (the type
you use on banking online) or chose from a list of
all the major modern encryption types.
- Who knows the code?
A code (no matter what encryption you use) is only
as safe as it is secret. With most online backup systems
today, the service provider issues the client with
a code. This by default means that the service provider
could potentially read your data! With our system,
the code is generated at the client side. We never
know the code and you can change it with or without
reference to us. This is a crucial difference set
between our system and almost all others.
Some compatibility issues concerning
solicitors.
The online backup requirement for solicitors will vary
from practice to practice. Most solicitors offices are
heavy users of Microsoft office applications. This should
not pose a challenge to any online backup provider.
Two common compatibility areas for solicitors to watch
are as follows;
- Microsoft exchange
If you use Exchange sever in your legal practice you
will need your provider to be capable of supporting
this and to implement that feature. Your providers
software should support this as standard.
Any mention of “agents” or “plug
ins” to support this should be seen as a red
flag This in general would indicate that the said
providers software was not originally written to support
your type of implementation and that additional components
are required. Any such addition may increase the complexity
of the process and the associated risks. You are looking
for a solution which was designed to support exchange
from the outset.
- SQL Server.
If you use or intend to use practice software, it
is likely that you will need SQL Server compatible
backup software. Again, any online backup provider
should be capable of catering for this with one software
load. Comments like, ”we have an agent to manage
SQL” or “we can provide a plug in for
SQL” demonstrate that you are being provided
with software which was designed for less complex
scenarios
Online backup selection and re-examination
for solicitors.
Your online backup provider can not know which data
areas you require to backup. They should however be
capable of and prepared to advise on general guidelines
regarding inclusion and exclusion.
They should also be able to clearly demonstrate how
you can select additional folders or deselect existing
folders from any backup set. Also, your provider should
be keen to assist with getting information from practice
software providers about data selection for practice
software. This information will ad to the providers
knowledge base and assist with other installations.
No matter how well configured the original backup sets
are, your backup and archive requirements will change
over time. Your provider should offer one free backup
selection audit per annum and the facility to avail
of a paid backup selection audit as required. Typically
you would avail of this once per year regardless of
change and each time your network hardware or software
is amended in a manner which affects data storage files
or areas.
Availability of data to your legal
practice
One major weakness with online backup is that you need
your connectivity to retrieve data by normal process.
A data restore requirement may be just one of the challenges
in a data outage scenario. You cannot therefore assume
that your broadband will be functional and effective
when you need to restore. Even if your connectivity
is available and of good quality, a bulk data restore
could take considerable time. Most providers have no
answer to this bar the line, “it is the clients
responsibility to maintain there connection”.
This statement may be true and is never helpful. At
backupanytime we have active and passive solutions to
this problem. The passive solution is that our software
is capable of retaining a local encrypted copy of backups
on any networked system. This allows a fast local restore
without broadband. The active solution is that we can
make available by courier an encrypted copy of your
data. The encryption provides security of carriage and
the courier makes your encrypted data available for
fast local restore.
Online backup support for solicitors.
Online backup is actually a very simple concept. You
select data and a schedule. On schedule, the data is
encrypted, compressed and transferred. Despite the simplicity,
the support requirement is essential to provide you
with security and peace of mind in the absence of data
outage and to facilitate safe restore when the need
arises. You should have a personal relationship with
your online backup providers. In addition to formal
office contact details you should have a mobile phone
number for an appointed account manager. This person
should have an active interest in your online backup
to the extent of being able to at the very least to
field calls and follow up queries pertaining to any
area of your online backup.
If after reading this document you would like assistance
or have general concerns about your current or intended
backup system, contact backupanytime in strict confidence
and find out what we can do for your practice.
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