Simple backups aren't enough

I've said this before - it's not good enough to have a simple backup system that backs up your computer each day to the same place. Here's why.

"Data could not be recovered from backups, as the backup procedure kicked in shortly after the ransomware took root, and backed up copies of the encrypted files."

I'm glad to say that a lot of their data is on DVD or CD, and so is safe. But data for ongoing investigations is lost.

They aren't going to pay the ransom, and I think they're right. There's no guarantee that paying the ransom will get their data back, and they don't want to pay criminals.

So how should you do backups? Here's what I do. I do rolling backups. Yesterday, I backed up my main server to a server called Nigel. Tomorrow I'll back up to a server called Jezza. And there's two others like that. So if I suddenly discovered that my main server has been borked, and the borkedness has been copied to the backup, then I only need to go back to the backup before that.

So ask yourself this. If you suddenly found yourself in the position of the Cockrell Hill Police Department, would you be able to recover? If not, change your backup system.

And if you don't have a backup system, then you haven't been hearing what I've been saying for the last 30 years.