World Backup Day celebrated annually on March 31, is about — the importance of data protection.

An expert provides the best practices to prevent data loss

Millions of laptops and smartphones are lost every year due to accidents or malice. This means an uncountable number of gigabytes and terabytes of personal and business information that get forgotten, destroyed, or in the worst-case scenario, threatened to be leaked. That is unless it was protected and copies were safely kept elsewhere to be restored. That's what World Backup Day, celebrated annually on March 31, is about — the importance of data protection.

"Data loss is usually sudden and unexpected. Through falling victim to cybercrime, such as phishing, scam, or fraud, in particular, people suffer the loss of their most personal information," says Oliver Noble, a cybersecurity expert at NordLocker, an encrypted cloud storage service provider. "As we become more reliant on technology, the value of personal data increases with the risk of losing it. Permanent deletion by accident of a holiday photo may be very upsetting, but a malicious stranger getting hold of your Social Security number or a photocopy of your passport may cause serious trouble like financial loss or identity theft."

To make data backup a part of your cyber hygiene, Oliver Noble provides some practices to make the process easy and smooth.

• Don't keep your passwords in your head. Writing them down in a paper notebook isn't an option, either, because you can lose that, too. Therefore, the best way is to store all your passwords, other logins to your online accounts, and credit card details in a password manager. To access your sensitive information you'll only need to remember one master password.

• Back up your files in cloud storage. Thanks to its convenience, cloud computing is an excellent idea for its vast storage space, encryption, relatively low prices, and ease of setting up and keeping it organized.

• Don't forget to back up your smartphone. Android and iOS devices come with cloud solutions that allow you to easily backup your photos, contact information, and messages.

• Don't forget to back up regularly or set up automatic backups in your device's settings menu or in-app preferences so none of your information stays unprotected.

ABOUT NORDLOCKER

NordLocker is the world's first end-to-end encrypted cloud with a file encryption tool. It was created by the cybersecurity experts behind NordVPN – one of the most advanced VPN service providers in the world. NordLocker is available for Windows and macOS, supports all file types, offers a fast and intuitive interface, and guarantees secure sync between devices. With NordLocker, files are protected from hacking, surveillance, and data collection. For more information: nordlocker.com.