Government agencies across the Pacific have moved their records, finances and services onto computers and servers. In many offices, the only copy of that data sits on the machine where it was created. One ransomware attack, one flood or one failed hard drive can erase years of work.
The 3-2-1 rule, adjusted for islands
The classic rule says: keep three copies of important data, on two different kinds of storage, with one copy somewhere else. On islands we add two more:
- One copy offline. A copy that is not connected to any network cannot be encrypted by ransomware.
- One copy that has been tested. A backup that has never been restored is not proven to work.
Offline is underrated
Cloud backup is valuable, but it depends on bandwidth, on the international link, and on credentials that attackers try to steal. A simple, regular snapshot onto external drives, logged and locked in a fire- and water-resistant safe, is cheap, understandable and very hard to attack. It gives a government a line in the sand: a date it can always return to.
Things that go wrong
- Databases copied while running. Copying the files of a live database often produces a copy that will not open. Use the system’s own export or backup tool.
- Drives left unpowered for years. Flash storage (SSDs and USB sticks) can slowly lose data when it sits unpowered, and heat makes it worse. Store drives somewhere cool, check a sample every year, and keep a second copy on a different type of media.
- One safe, one building. A fire, flood or storm surge can take the backups with the originals. Keep a second set on another island or off-island.
- No records of what is where. Every drive needs a label and a log: what is on it, from which office, and who to ask about it.
Start now, improve later
A national backup policy and a modern disaster-recovery system take time and money. A disciplined, offline snapshot can start next month with a box of drives, a form and a safe. It will not be perfect. It will mean that if the worst happens, the government restores from a known date instead of starting from zero.