Rural Water - Quarter 3, 2008 - (Page 17)

Why back up online? Most traditional backup methods copy computer ﬁ les onto some kind of media, be it an external hard drive, a CD or DVD, a USB keychain drive, or the traditional magnetic tape drive. These methods are convenient and quick, and many (particularly external hard drives and DVDs) offer plenty of inexpensive storage space. The problem is that most of the time, people keep external hard drives and DVDs in the same ofﬁce or building as the computer they are backing up. So, should a disaster — such as a hurricane, earthquake or ﬁ re — occur, both the computer and the data backup could be destroyed. There is also the problem of theft, of course. We all suffer from thinking the worst can never happen to us, but the threat of data theft is real. For those who need more convincing, please visit the privacy rights organization’s Web site at www.privacyrights.org/ar/ChronDataBreaches.htm#CP. For your convenience, I have included in the chart below a small sampling of 2007 security breaches currently reported on their Web site. The chart clearly illustrates why I am a ﬁ rm believer in online backup services, which save your most critical computer ﬁ les on a secure, offsite server over the Internet. If you have backed up regularly online, you may lose your computer in a disaster or to a theft, but at least your key ﬁ les will survive. How does it work? Instead of storing your backup ﬁ les on magnetic or optical media, you send your data over the Internet to another computer, and this other computer acts as a remote backup. When you lose a ﬁ le, you connect to that remote computer to restore it. Some online services mimic a hard drive on your computer, letting you drag and drop ﬁ les to add them to the backup set. The ﬁ les on the off-site server are usually compressed to save space. Should something happen to your computer, you can access the ﬁ les from any Webenabled PC (provided you’ve remembered your user name and password, of course). In addition to the great advantage of “disaster prooﬁ ng” your business with a remote backup, online backup is also a very convenient way for businesses to store critical, high-value information they can then download from anywhere in the world. For people who travel, work from more than one location, or want to share ﬁ les with colleagues, online backup is the ideal solution. >>18 Date Made Public May 11, 2007 (Rochester, NY) Name (Location) Highland Hospital Type of Breach Two laptop computers, one containing patient information including Social Security numbers, were stolen from a business office. The computers were sold on eBay, and the one containing personal information was recovered. Number of Records 13,000 May 1, 2007 (Chicago, IL) J.P. Morgan A computer tape containing personal 47,000 information of wealthy bank clients and some employees was delivered to a secure off-site facility for storage but was later reported missing. Cassette tapes containing customer information were stolen from a locked customer’s box held by one of its vendors. Data included names and social security numbers. 196,000 January 26, 2007 WellPoint’s Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield (Virginia) When deciding how to approach backing up important files, consumers face a confusing array of options: tape drives, optical drives and removable hard disks, among others. Besides the expense of the hardware, which ranges from $150-$400, each tape or removable disk is an additional cost—usually around $99 each. Third Quarter 2008 • 17 http://www.privacyrights.org/ar/ChronDataBreaches.htm#CP

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Rural Water - Quarter 3, 2008

Rural Water - Quarter 3, 2008 Contents From the President From Hypo to Gas - A Forward Leap If You Lose All Your Data Today... Would You Still Be in Business Tomorrow? Weaving the Wireless Web Rural Water and the Farm Bill Ensuring Your Water System's Security Guarding Against Becoming a Victim of Fraud 10 Ways to Improve Utility Efficiency New Technology Making a Difference By Being Involved Regulatory Update Source Water Protection Corner Throwing My Loop Cub Scouts Visit Alliance of Indiana Rural Water's Spring Conference Advertisers.com Index to Advertisers From the CEO

Rural Water - Quarter 3, 2008

For optimal viewing of this digital publication, please enable JavaScript and then refresh the page. If you would like to try to load the digital publication without using Flash Player detection, please click here.