Emerging concerns for personal data protection
The traditional fears of hardware failure and accidental deletion are no longer the sole reasons people fear data loss. Cyber-threats like ransomware, a type of malicious software designed to block access to a computer system and its data until a sum of money is paid, is a growing threat to individuals and businesses. According to Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3), a partnership between the FBI and the non-profit National White Collar Crime Centre, between April 2014 and June 2015, the IC3 received 992 CryptoWall-related (ransomware) complaints, with victims reporting losses totalling over $18 million. Backup is one effective recovery option for CryptoWall-related attacks.
The data protection survey, conducted by Acronis with Google Consumer Surveys, focused on understanding data protection behaviour and included respondents from the United Kingdom, United States, Canada, Germany, France, Spain, Japan, and Australia. Key findings from more than 400 UK participants found:
· The most important data protection features were security (cited by 38 per cent of respondents), ease-of-use at 30 per cent, and privacy at 26 per cent
· 17 per cent have more than four devices (computers, laptops, smart phones) in their homes
· Currently, 35 per cent back up to external drives and 39 per cent back up to the cloud
· 62 per cent of consumers back up at night and 31 per cent backup while watching TV
A new category of “data protectors”
With the median household having at least four devices, an emerging trend of users called “family data protectors” is also gaining traction. The sheer growth of data captured in mobile pictures and videos, music files, and scanned family documents means the family data protector ensures the immediate and extended family is prepared for, and protected against, data loss.
“Data loss via hardware failure, file deletion, and ransomware are factors most people don’t think about on a daily basis, but when they do occur the results are devastating,” said John Zanni, CMO of Acronis. “Our survey results illustrate a growing general recognition of the value of data stored on family computers and devices, especially given the price people are willing to pay for their data. We hope that this new information, presented on World Backup Day, will encourage even more people to backup their data and protect their personal information.”
Three simple steps to improving your data protection
For anyone, but especially for family data protectors, keeping digital memories and fiduciary documents safe, secure and private, is a responsibility that can be easy and inexpensive to exercise. Below are some tips to help:
1. Always have a backup of a family’s critical data, documents, pictures and videos.
2. Keep your operating systems on the most up-to-date version. Those security patches and software updates are important
3. Be mindful of suspicious emails or clicking on links sent by unknown sources, it could be a phishing scheme or Ransomware.
