The recent OVH Strasbourg data center fire highlights a devastating oversight: a client’s “physically isolated” backups were stored in the same building, leading to total data loss. A French court ruled that “physically isolated” did not imply geographic separation, slashing compensation from €100,000 to €1,800.
Key Lessons
1. 3-2-1 Backup Rule:
- 3 copies of data (1 primary + 2 backups).
- 2 different storage media (e.g., cloud + external drives).
- 1 offsite backup (minimum 100+ km away).
2. Contract Clarity:
- Demand explicit definitions for terms like “isolated” or “redundant.”
3. Test Restores:
- Regularly validate backups with drills (e.g.,
rsync,tar, or cloud snapshots).
You Should Know: Backup Commands & Strategies
Linux/macOS Backup Tools
1. `rsync` for Incremental Backups
rsync -avz --delete /source/folder user@remote-server:/backup/folder
– Flags: `-a` (archive), `-v` (verbose), `-z` (compress), `–delete` (remove deleted files).
2. `tar` for Full Backups
tar -cvzf backup_$(date +%F).tar.gz /data
– Encrypt with GPG:
gpg -c backup_2023-10-01.tar.gz
3. Automate with `cron`
0 2 /usr/bin/rsync -avz /data user@backup-server:/backups
Windows Backup Commands
1. Robocopy
robocopy C:\Data \backup-server\share /MIR /Z /R:5 /W:5
– /MIR: Mirror mode. /Z: Resume support.
2. VSS (Volume Shadow Copy)
diskshadow /s script.txt
(Where `script.txt` contains VSS commands.)
Cloud Backup (AWS/Azure)
1. AWS S3 Sync
aws s3 sync /local/path s3://bucket-name --exclude ".tmp"
2. Azure Blob Storage
az storage blob upload-batch --account-name mystorage --destination /backup --source /data
What Undercode Say
The OVH fire underscores that “backup” ≠ “recovery.” Key technical takeaways:
– Geographic Separation: Use multi-region cloud storage (e.g., AWS S3 Cross-Region Replication).
– Immutable Backups: Enable write-once-read-many (WORM) policies to prevent ransomware tampering.
– Validation: Test restores monthly with commands like:
tar -xvzf backup.tar.gz -C /test-restore
– Monitoring: Alert on backup failures via tools like `logwatch` or Prometheus.
Expected Output:
- A tested, geographically dispersed backup system with automated logging and encryption.
- Legal clarity in contracts for terms like “isolated” or “redundant.”
Prediction:
As cloud adoption grows, courts will increasingly scrutinize vague SLAs, forcing providers to standardize terms like “geo-redundant.” Meanwhile, businesses ignoring the 3-2-1 rule will face catastrophic data losses.
Relevant URL:
References:
Reported By: Activity 7325512189572751362 – Hackers Feeds
Extra Hub: Undercode MoN
Basic Verification: Pass ✅
