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Best Practices LEA's should Follow
Best Practices LEA's should Follow
Regular and Frequent Data Backup
Regular and Frequent Data Backup
LEAs should perform backups on a regular basis. Standard practice is to perform data backups daily. If that is not possible then backups should be done at least once a week.
The LEA's SIS contains mission-critical data and should be backed up in real-time. For that, you can use tools that will automatically backup your data on a regular frequency. Else, you can also perform backups manually if you own a small or medium business.
Use Multiple Methods
Use Multiple Methods
It is unwise for an LEA to rely on a single data backup method. It is recommended to follow at a minimum the popular 3-2-1 rule. The 3-2-1 rule means making three copies of data, storing that data on two different devices or platforms, and having one copy in offsite storage preferably in an immutable state. Immutable (or unchangeable) backups are copies of files and data that cannot be altered or tampered with for a preset period of time
Many LEAs have limited budgets, so the LEA may want to consider backups to NAS devices such as Synology and Synology's C2 cloud or other such platforms.
Prioritize Offsite Storage
Prioritize Offsite Storage
If the LEA can not follow the 3-2-1 method then the LEA should at least have one single offsite backup. It can be a physical server located somewhere away from your LEA such as another district or ESC or a cloud-based platform.
There are advantages of an offsite backup, especially in the case of a disaster, such as a flood, fire, or tornado.
The disadvantage of having only one off-site backup is if the backups are not immutable they could be encrypted by a virus which would prevent recovery.
Consider Endpoints
Consider Endpoints
If the LEA focuses only on centralized servers some data could be lost in the event of a cryptovirus attack or a failed hard drive. LEAs consider backing up the endpoints of employees that may have local data on their system such as superintendents, principals, and or counselors. It would be best practice to have policies in place for users to only store data on network shares or cloud drives.
Encrypt Backup Data
Encrypt Backup Data
The LEA should select a backup solution that allows for data encryption. Having the backup data encrypted at rest is considered best practice from a security perspective.
Perform Regular Tests
Perform Regular Tests
LEAs should note that a backup is only useful if files can be restored from it. LEAs should try to restore a file from a backup at least once a month and do a full restore of a system once or twice a year to ensure that in the event that the backups are needed everything can be restored. These tests will give the LEA the ability to fix any issues in the backup system before it is needed for a real recovery.
LEAs should also calculate the time needed to restore everything. If it takes an hour to restore a few files that time could translate into weeks or months to restore everything in the event of a disaster.
Decide on the Retention Span
Decide on the Retention Span
It is most likely not cost-effective for an LEA to keep every backup forever. LEAs may want to consider a retention schedule for various types of backup up data. Some data has legal requirements as to how long it should be kept. The LEA should consider data retention lengths as a part of its retention schedule.
The Retention Schedule for Records of Public School Districts from the Texas State Library and Archives may be a beneficial resource for LEAs to consider. https://www.tsl.texas.gov/slrm/localretention/schedule_sd
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