Download The Importance of Backing Up Data: Rules and Best Practices and more Lecture notes English Literature in PDF only on Docsity! 1 WHAT IS BACKUP AND WHY IS IT IMPORTANT? THE EU CYBERSECURITY AGENCY According to the Cambridge and Oxford dictionaries, a backup is “a copy of information held on a computer that is stored separately from the computer”1 and/or “a copy of a file or other item of data made in case the original is lost or damaged.”2 Backups are important because they allow the restoring of files and data that are lost or stolen. 1 https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/backup 2 https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/backup Target Audience: eTwinning teachers Subject: Backup BACKUP 2 THREE RULES TO FOLLOW 1. Backup everything that is important When one has to decide what to backup, you should start by answering a really simple question: What files or data do you have in your computer that you would hate to lose? 2. Backup as often as you value your data Backup as often as you value your files and data: if you would hate to lose the work you’d done just from one day, then backup every day! Teachers spend a lot of time planning and creating and time is precious, backing up is really important. The job is difficult enough, don’t make it worse by losing your work. A school in the UK was recently attacked by cyber-criminals3, their server was encrypted and the school actually paid the ransom to have the files released. This sort of thing does happen – but having a good back up means it is much less of a problem. 3 https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-tyne-44045355 Example for teachers You could explain to students the context in which they should do a back up. There are things that people usually hate losing such as pictures and homework. Explain that you know this is difficult and often seen as a hassle but it is important. You can tell your students that when they go home at the end of a holiday it is important to make a copy of any photos that they’ve taken just in case! Example for teachers You could give your students an example to make them realize the importance of backing up data. It was the end of the summer and I was writing the final paragraphs of my summer essay. I was really proud of it, it was the result of almost 3 weeks of work. I knew I was going to impress my teacher and get a good grade. I was writing the final paragraphs when, suddenly, the house’s lights went off and my computer froze. When I turned my computer on again, my essay was gone! Three weeks of sweat and hard work all gone! In the end, I managed to rewrite the essay, but it was not as good as the first one…and I had to stay home and spend the last two weeks of the summer rewriting it rather than playing football with my mates. From that day, I backup my homework every night. IF YOU WOULD HATE TO LOSE THE WORK YOU’D DONE JUST FROM ONE DAY, BACKUP EVERY DAY!
