28th February 2012
 Sensitive pupil and staff data is left exposed by many UK schools, according to information storage expert Attix5
According to market leading backup software provider Attix5, securing the storage of UK school pupils and staff data is now an urgent issue. Despite this, the systems that many schools use to backup information are still extremely outdated.
Attix5 reveals that although most households switched from tape to digital over a decade ago, more than 25% of schools in the UK are still using legacy tape systems for backup purposes. Data storage on tape presents a number of unnecessary security risks. Firstly, someone within the school still has to be physically responsible for the tape and for backing-up data to it. Also, the fact that tape is typically transported from one location to another poses added risks.
Petrus Human, Technical Director at Attix5 explains: “Research shows that of the schools that are still using tape, 30% take the backup tape home and 35% leave the tape in storage at the school. Obviously this isn’t ideal as it opens up the risk of the data being lost or stolen.”
Typically, tape is protected by just one password, making the data on it quite easily accessible if it falls into the wrong hands. Just like other enterprises, UK schools and education institutes are at risk from fraudsters and hackers. A breach of this sensitive data can lead to a serious loss of confidence in the school or much worse, the data falling into the wrong hands and being misused.
Some schools outsource the storage of the tape, but this also comes with significant risk. Human continues: “The fact that the tape has to travel to and from the storage location is one problem. I’ve also seen situations where, for data recovery purposes, the incorrect tape has been sent back to the wrong client, meaning the data has fallen into the wrong hands.”
Cloud based storage can help avoid all of these issues. The backup is automated, the data is completely secure and it is easily retrievable. So, why aren’t more schools switching to the modern virtual backup system?
Like many other organisations, schools are still concerned about security within the cloud, but Attix5 says now is the time for education organisations to realise that cloud based backup solutions are actually much more secure than tape.
A further barrier to change is the incorrect perception that tape is cheaper. In reality, when taking into account the cost of the tape itself and the hardware and personnel resource needed to transfer the data to tape, not to mention the transportation and storage costs, it works out as significantly more expensive. Human says: “In costing models that we undertake for the education sector, cloud based backup always works out at least 45% cheaper than tape over a three year period.”
With cloud based backup, and the conversion to software-as-a-service (SAAS) payment models, working out safer, cheaper and with significantly more operational benefits than tape, there is no excuse for schools not to switch. Human sums up: “The magnitude of vulnerability of storing data on tape is enormous. UK Schools cannot afford to not switch to cloud based backup.”
www.attix5.com
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