The 3-2-1 method is something that has been thrown around as a term in archiving and backup circles, usually in the same breath as “best practices” and with a strong suggestion that this is the way to go. But what is it really, and how do you implement it?
What is the 3-2-1 method?
In brief, the 3-2-1 method means a total of three types of backups, of which two need to be on different kinds of media (such as network-attached storage, tape, or a local drive), with one copy offsite and ideally immutable.
Why duplicate backups?
Duplicated backups give you a measure of redundancy if anything starts going wrong. If a backup is compromised, overwritten or encrypted, you have another two chances to recover your critical business data.
Why different mediums?
On a similar note as above, different mediums give you more security and recoverability. Even when a hostile actor manages to compromise one backup system, it is probable whatever method they are using to do so will not translate over to the other types. A phishing attack that gave hackers access to an admin’s account will not grant them the ability to manipulate a physical disc.
What are immutable backups?
Immutable backups are saved in a write-once-read-many-times format that can’t be altered or deleted – even by hackers and admins. Consequently, these are the bedrock of your recovery strategy – a backup that cannot be altered even if all other cybersecurity and recovery methods fail.
Taken together, all of these features mean that 3-2-1 method-compliant backups cover as many of the bases as possible and are as close as we can get to bulletproofing your data. Of course, nothing is ever actually bulletproof and you still need to devote resources to training, prevention and recovery processes.
Backup with contentACCESS for Microsoft 365
TECH-ARROW has announced recently that we will soon be launching our novel contentACCESS Backup for Microsoft 365. One of the advantages on offer with our backup solution is the ease with which it can be configured towards achieving 3-2-1 compliance.
If you’re interested in learning more, contact us and continue to watch this space for more backup news!
Your Data In Your Hands – With TECH-ARROW
