Are Your Backups Safe? A guide to securing your critical data.

BackUps Security

Data backups are the foundation of business continuity. Elaborate backup and disaster recovery plans are pivotal when managing your client’s most important data however ensuring your data is backed up is only half the battle. 

Backups are rarely thought of as being at risk and security is often overlooked, but the fact of the matter is that backups are now prime targets of malware attacks and a new favorite for ransomware attackers. Ransomware is one of the fastest growing cyber threats today and must be taken seriously. 

Ransomware can compromise an entire system and encrypt all data immediately. Once your backup server is infected, backups will also be compromised which is why it is essential to include secure data backup guidelines in your daily operations. Organizations can and should follow recommended and best-practices to ensure the security and integrity of their backups: 

  • Isolate your Backups: Keep your Backup server and the backup storage devices separate from the production Domain. This will limit access to the backup servers adding security. 
  • Follow the 3-2-1 Backup rule:
    • Create 3 copies of your data (1 primary copy and 2 backups) 
    • Store your copies in at least 2 types of storage media (local drive, network share/NAS, tape drive, etc.) 
    • Store one of these copies offsite (in the Cloud)
  • Encryption: Keep your backups encrypted for an additional layer of security.
  • Access Control: Know who should have access to your backup data. Implement access controls for backup servers as well as the backup storage.  
  • Monitor: Implement logging and alert monitoring to track logins and data manipulation on the backup infrastructure. Also, stay updated with the backup status of your infrastructure. Implement a monitoring and alerting solution to stay updated with backup failures and other related issues. 
  • Immutable Storage: Use immutable storage wherever possible. Most cloud storage providers offer immutable storage options which can be utilized for backup storage. 

Looking to learn more? If you are a Managed Service Provider (MSP), ProVal Tech’s offerings can help you come up with an effective Backup and DR strategy for your clients, as well as manage it on your behalf. Contact us today to schedule a free consultation.  

They truly act as an extension of our team, providing the right consulting support exactly when we need it.

ProVal brings deep, hands-on knowledge of how ConnectWise PSA really works, combined with a thoughtful, consultative approach that sets them apart.

They listen first—both to understand our environment and who we are as an organization—and focus on finding the right solutions rather than pushing products. With strong command of best practices and experience across many MSP environments, they truly act as an extension of our team, providing the right consulting support exactly when we need it.

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Michael LaFond
ConnectWise Program Manager
New Charter Technologies

Are Your Backups Safe? A guide to securing your critical data.

BackUps Security

I truly view ProVal as a partner and extension of my team, not as one of my vendors

When our NOC Manager left last fall we wanted to replace the position with an outsourced NOC to reduce headcount, and bring in an expert to both Labtech and our backup solutions. Bringing in ProVal Technologies was one of the best decisions we made last year and has paid for itself.During our first few monthly recurring Labtech admin meetings the ProVal team discovered incorrect settings and policies that were not applying correctly in our Labtech server. Things that we thought were automated and working were not. For example, there were multiple scripts and policies running but set to do nothing such as disk cleanup scripts. Cisco Umbrella was not configured correctly. Server alerting was not set right and the list went on.The backup team sends daily and weekly reports and updates that reduce my technicians time that we used to spend on backup or antivirus tickets that took forever and were tedious.ProVal also brings in great insights to our business and really cares about our success. They will frequently mention to me in meetings what new scripts they can import to make us more efficient or will schedule upgrades to our backups, Labtech, etc so I don’t have to worry. I truly view ProVal as a partner and extension of my team not as one of my vendors.

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Chris Warnick
Vision Computer Solutions
Northville, MI

They will quickly become an extension of your team and your ROI will reflect the results

We have been a long time user of Labtech and had tried for many years to manage the product internally with no real success at the level we needed to make our solutions more efficient for our customers. Once we hired Vikram and his team at ProVal, it solved all our pain points with the product and we really felt like we were leveraging the tool as it was designed. If this sounds like you and it’s keeping you up at night, then you need these guys. They will quickly become an extension of your team and your ROI will reflect the results.

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Bryan Wolff
CEO, Wolff Logics LT Managed & Admin Services
Cedar Park, Texas

They work well, fast and on budget

We met Vikram from ProVal Tech at Gary Pica’s Shnizzfest a year ago. Vikram explained the advantage of having trained, certified personnel take care of our recent Automate implementation. Even though we had taken an implementation package from ConnectWise to start up the program, we felt many custom configurations we needed for our business were lacking. We hired ProVal Tech after Automate was installed to help us with this task. From sales to technicians everyone was professional and knowledgeable. Onboarding was simple, and well documented. Tools on the web were supplied while we did the work, and they allowed us to track what was done, and see the improvements in the environment. It was easy to reach any of the team members, for any concern or question – all answered with courtesy and smile. Once the work was finished, we were given some training and explanations, add to that documentation, about the work and the scripts and features added to the program. We have been happily working with Automate since then. We can only recommend this efficient team of people for any work into Automate: they work well, fast and on budget.

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Ben Prevost
FarWeb IT
Sherbrooke, Canada
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