"We have backups." It's one of the most common things we hear from new clients — and one of the things we verify first, because having backups and having working backups are not the same thing.
The difference only becomes clear when something goes wrong. Ransomware encrypts your files. A server dies. Someone deletes a folder that shouldn't have been deleted. In that moment, the only thing that matters is whether you can restore clean data — right now, to a working system. If you've never tested that, you don't actually know.
The 3-2-1 rule
The standard backup strategy that holds up is the 3-2-1 rule:
- 3 copies of your data
- 2 different types of media (local and cloud, for example)
- 1 copy offsite — physically or geographically separate from your primary systems
The reason for multiple copies is simple: any single backup can fail. A local backup won't survive a fire or flood. A cloud backup won't help if ransomware has already encrypted your sync'd files before you noticed the attack. Layering media and locations means no single failure takes everything.
Why testing matters
Backups fail silently. A misconfigured job, a full disk, a credential that expired — any of these can cause your backup to quietly stop working weeks before you ever need it. By the time you discover the problem, you've lost your safety net.
Testing a restore means actually pulling files from the backup and confirming they work. Not checking a dashboard that says "backup completed successfully" — doing a real restore to a test environment. We recommend doing this quarterly at minimum, and documenting the results so you have a record if you ever need to demonstrate it to an insurer or auditor.
Ransomware and why isolation matters
Standard cloud sync (Dropbox, OneDrive, Google Drive) is not a backup. If ransomware encrypts your local files and the encrypted versions sync to the cloud, you've lost your copy. Isolated backups — written to storage that's not continuously connected to your live environment — take that leverage away from the attacker. You can restore on your terms.
The question that cuts through the noise
Could you restore your critical business data by tomorrow morning? If the answer is "I think so" or "I'm not sure," that's the place to start. A backup review is quick and the peace of mind from knowing it actually works is worth every minute of it.
