How Do You Back Up Business-Critical Data?

Why Backups Are the Cornerstone of Cyber Resilience

Losing access to critical systems and data can disrupt business operations, cause data loss, or violate regulatory requirements. Maintaining backups of business-critical data is a crucial step for all businesses, particularly as ransomware attacks—which can encrypt victims’ data and leave businesses in the lurch for weeks—are on the rise. Ransomware was present in 44% of breaches analyzed in Verizon’s 2025 Data Breach Investigations Report, which is a 37% increase from the 2024 report.

To ensure business continuity, organizations must build backup strategies rooted in consistency, redundancy, and cybersecurity awareness. At the core of this strategy is the crucial step of backing up business-critical data and maintaining its integrity.

Backup strategies protect:

• Customer data and transaction records
• Internal systems and software configurations
• Intellectual property, source code, and operational workflows

Step 1: Classify and Prioritize Business-Critical Data

Before selecting a backup method, classify your important data by business impact.

Define what qualifies as production data versus long-term archives. Identify data types that support revenue, compliance, and daily operations.

Use these classifications to:

• Set recovery time objectives (RTOs) and recovery point objectives (RPOs)
• Allocate storage space and align backup frequency accordingly
• Plan redundancy levels based on business risk

Step 2: Follow the 3-2-1 Backup Rule

The 3-2-1 backup rule is foundational:

• Keep 3 copies of your data
• Use 2 different storage devices
• Store 1 copy off site

Some organizations go further by keeping a cloud copy or an off site copy in a remote location to withstand extreme weather events or a malicious attack.

A complete copy of data stored in a geographically distant, secure location helps mitigate power outages, natural disasters, and other disruptions.

Step 3: Choose the Right Backup Method for Each Use Case

Modern backup strategies combine multiple techniques:

• Full backups: Create a complete copy of all selected data. Essential but resource-intensive.
• Incremental backups: Back up only data changed since the prior backup, saving storage space and bandwidth.
• Differential backups: Back up all data changed since the last full backup—useful for high-change environments.
• Block level incremental backups: Back up only blocks of data updated since the previous backup. This can be useful for increasing the speed of backups and decreasing the amount of storage required.

Use a combination depending on the critical systems being protected, available network bandwidth, and required data retention periods.

Step 4: Embrace Cloud Storage and Hybrid Models

Cloud storage offers scalable capacity, geographic separation, and built-in automation. A hybrid approach—combining local and cloud backup options—delivers faster recovery with off-site security.

Choose solutions that:

• Automate the backup process based on file or system changes
• Encrypt data in transit and at rest
• Offer backup applications for endpoints and servers
• Support data backup across physical, virtual, and SaaS environments

Some platforms support online backup with storage snapshots that can be rapidly deployed.

Step 5: Regularly Test Backup and Recovery Processes

Testing your backup data ensures it’s restorable. Many organizations neglect recovery testing, only discovering issues during an actual disaster or ransomware incident.

Schedule regular restore drills to:

• Validate RTO and RPO alignment
• Uncover gaps in backup software or storage configuration
• Confirm staff familiarity with emergency procedures

Review logs for incomplete jobs or failed uploads. Maintain redundancy for both primary storage and secondary storage to minimize risk.

Step 6: Integrate Backup into Business Continuity Planning

Backup is not just an IT function—it’s a key component of overall resilience for businesses. Embed data recovery procedures directly into your business continuity plan.

This means clearly assigning responsibility for each phase of the recovery process, defining how and when stakeholders receive notifications, and mapping out all dependencies on third-party vendors and cloud service providers to ensure seamless coordination during a disruption. Approximately 41.4% of ransomware attacks begin with third parties, according to SecurityScorecard research. Learn more in SecurityScorecard’s 2025 Global Third-Party Breach Report.

Include backup validation in your BCP drills. Treat backup as a living system requiring ongoing management and updates.

Step 7: Account for Human Error, Cybersecurity Threats, and Vendor Risk

Human error continues to cause data loss, year-over-year, according to Verizon’s 2025 Data Breach Investigations Report. Protect backups from:

• Accidental deletion
• Improper configuration
• Neglecting critical updates

Cybersecurity threats like ransomware may target backup systems directly. Ensure:

• Backups are immutable or WORM (write once, read many, meaning it can be written, but not modified)
• Restricted access for authorized personnel
• Frequent backups for volatile systems

Work with SecurityScorecard to evaluate vendor risk management. If a vendor’s recovery capabilities or backup procedures are weak, their failure could impact your environment.

Strategic Backup Is a Cyber Resilience Imperative

Backing up data is essential to safeguard digital trust, sustain critical business operations, comply with regulations, and maintain business continuity.

Organizations must treat data protection as a shared priority across departments. Whether you manage cloud infrastructure, customer support, or compliance, resilient backup processes support your mission.

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