Aspect IT: Common causes of data loss

By Danielle Skinner, Marketing Executive at Aspect IT

Businesses may occasionally experience data loss, whether through accidently deleting files or something more malicious such as a data breach.

Organisations need to be prepared for the unexpected, which is why file and data backups are essential to have.

A study from 2018 showed that 50 per cent of UK businesses are leaving their data at risk. If you are one of those businesses, now is the time to look for a backup solution before it’s too late. 

Our article highlights the most common causes of data loss in a business and shows how easy it is for data to vanish for good.

User error: You may have been clearing your desktop to make things tidier but accidently delete an important file. Without having a back up of the original copy, the data may be gone for good and irretrievable.

Hardware issues and software crashes: Losing your data could be due to hardware issues or software problems too. Your PC could crash while you are in the middle of a document and suddenly it is gone. 

In addition, it is always a good idea to regularly update your software and have maintenance checks on your hardware. 

Malware and viruses: Without security protection you are leaving your PC and network open to online threats. Hackers could encrypt your files so the operating system no longer recognises them and they could hold your data to ransom. 

Either way, the data can be stolen from you and could adversely affect your business finances. 

Theft of your PC: Businesses can sometimes experience theft of equipment, which is inconvenient at best, but if data on the stolen equipment is not backed up anywhere else this could be devastating to a company.

Power cuts: Power loss can result in data loss, if, for example, you had not yet saved what you were working on when the power cut happened. Power loss can also result in corrupted files in some cases. Save your files every couple of minutes and always ensure a backup is stored elsewhere. 

Make use of backup solutions: Here at Aspect IT, we can store regular back-ups of your business’ data, so if any of the above occurs you can turn to us for help. 

If you would like to know more, call us on 0161 241 9050 or email info@aspectit.co.uk

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