Hurricane Season: Electronic Protection Tips

Featured article by Chris Bross, CTO, DriveSavers

June 1st marked the start of hurricane season and tropical storms are top of mind for companies in prime locations. Taking preventative measures that businesses can take to protect important data including accounting paperwork, employee documents and sensitive customer information, should be a priority.

DriveSavers, the worldwide leader in secure data recovery, eDiscovery and digital forensics, has provided these tips to safeguard electronic data before and after a hurricane or tropical storm.

Preparation:

Electronic devices should be enclosed in plastic bags or watertight containers. Keep devices off the floor to prevent water damage from light flooding.

All hardware such as desktop computers, laptops, printers, scanners and smartphones should be unplugged from power sources to protect them from damaging power spikes and surges.

When unplugging isn’t an option, a high quality surge protector or uninterruptible power supply (UPS) should be used. Be sure to test these devices regularly in order to maintain optimal effectiveness.

Invest in data backup software and remember to back up regularly. This is especially important if you reside in a storm-prone region. Backing up can help prevent data loss even if a device is beyond repair, especially redundant backups, in which the same data is stored in different locations­—one working copy on the device that you use, one backup copy on a local device such as an external hard drive and one backup stored in the cloud or other networked device.

Reaction:

Never attempt to turn on a device that is wet or physically damaged.

If you believe your device is damaged, contact a professional data recovery company right away.

As chief technology officer at DriveSavers, leaders in data recovery, eDiscovery and forensics, Chris Bross manages the R&D team for emerging storage technologies and guides the development of new tools, technology and techniques to overcome unique challenges and recover critical user data. Since joining the company in 1995, Bross has engineered his way around physical trauma, mechanical damage and encryption issues to securely recover data on all types of failed storage devices. Prior to joining DriveSavers, Bross held technical engineering positions at Golden Triangle Software and Adobe Systems, Inc. Bross’ expertise is in recovering RAID, NAS and SAN storage systems with a specialization in UNIX, Linux and Macintosh.