Get Prepared For GDPR

How GDPR changes are affecting the way business handles data.

It has been some time now since the new General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) was approved by the European Parliament, and the new rules have probably already affected the way your business handles data and looks after information and backup. In this article, we want to show you how Macrium Reflect can help you implement these new regulations in order to be GDPR-compliant.

What is GDPR?

GDPR is a new EU Directive that replaces the Data Protection Directive 95/46/EC, and will be applied from the 25th May 2018 to adjust Data Protection to today’s digital landscape. In this new regulation, articles regarding data rights of individuals have been updated, extended, and created, and new policies and procedures to protect personal data have been defined.

Catching up with today’s digital world

The updated GDPR version has been modernised to adjust regulations to today’s digital landscape, giving individuals more control over their data being held by companies, and defining regulations that approach data in a more secure and protected way.

How backup can help you to be GDPR-compliant

The core of the new GDPR is transparency, privacy protection, and control over data. It is here where having the right backup solution can help companies protect data from being lost, stolen, or manipulated and ensure its recoverability.

Art.32 and the individual right to request information about data being held

Article 32 states that any individual is entitled to request information about the data that is being held by the data controller and to know if the data has been lost or hacked.

As a company, you have to be able to:

“Ensure the ongoing confidentiality, integrity, availability, and resilience of processing systems and services.
Restore the availability and access to personal data in a timely manner in the event of a physical or technical incident.”

Following those clauses, if for any reason you are a victim of any kind of data disaster (ransomware, human error, etc.) you have to ensure the recoverability of people’s data and protect it against destruction.

Don’t worry, Macrium has got your back.

1.Test applications and software patches using your backup data using the Macrium viBoot feature.

Macrium viBoot enables IT departments to instantly create, start, and manage Microsoft Hyper-V virtual machines using one or more Macrium Reflect image files. These are used as the basis of the virtual machine storage sub-system.

At a minimum, viBoot enables users to boot into the images they have previously created using Macrium Reflect, for validation purposes. It also allows data retrieval from old applications stored on a bootable image. At an enterprise level, you could even recover an entire network environment in minutes.

Equally, having a virtual machine gives you the opportunity to test any application and patches before they are applied to the whole organization.

2. Protect data from destruction or from being encrypted and held for ransom

Macrium Image Guardian feature protects your backups against ransomware by preventing unauthorised modification of Macrium backup files on local and USB volumes.

3. File & Folder backup

A file and folder backup is a useful way to back up your working files, personal files and precious data. Unlike other backup solutions, Macrium Reflect can backup open and locked files by using Microsoft Volume Shadow copy Service (VSS).

4. Integrated email alerting component

For many users, email notification of success or failure of a backup helps them keep on top of the status of their backups, particularly with scheduled backups that take place in the background.

5. Using Recovery Media against data corruption

Rescue Media can be used to help restore your hard disk should the system become corrupted to the extent that you can no longer boot it. This is one of the most important steps to take when backing up your system. Should your computer hard drive develop faults or the operating system become corrupt in some way, the rescue media will prove invaluable in restoring a working system much more quickly and in a complete state than if you had to install the operating system all over again. It works even if your whole hard drive has been corrupted precisely because it boots from external media, not files residing on your hard drive.

6. Data integrity assurance

We make sure the data is not compromised by using disk encryption software by Microsoft under the name Bitlocker. Various third-party tools, such as TrueCrypt, McAfee SafeBoot, and PGP Whole Disk Encryption offer similar functionality. You can choose to encrypt your data in the following ways: 1) System disk/partition encryption, 2) Data partition/disk encryption, or 3) File based virtual disk the method you choose impacts how you can image, back up and restore your system or files.

There are just 3 months to go, so we recommend implementing these measures as soon as possible in order to protect data from the unexpected, ensuring data safety, integrity, and availability.

About Macrium Software

Macrium Software provides comprehensive backup and DR solutions for home or businesses, which are used worldwide to protect valuable data and operating systems. Using advanced disk imaging technology, Macrium solutions provide fast, reliable, and easily recoverable images. With many millions of users worldwide, Macrium is a trusted and reliable solution for all data protection needs.

You can download a 30-day trial of Macrium Reflect for Home or Business use. Technical support for Trial users evaluating our software is available via email.