The Safety Net (Backups)
Imagine turning on your computer and finding a red screen: "All your files have been encrypted. Pay £5,000 in Bitcoin to get them back." This is Ransomware. It is a digital kidnapping of your data. For a small charity, £5,000 is crippling. But if you have a backup, this disaster becomes a mere inconvenience.
The 3-2-1 Rule (Simplified)
You don't need a complex server room. You just need to follow the Rule of Redundancy.
3 copies of your data (e.g., one on your computer, one on the cloud, one on a drive).
2 different media types (Cloud and Hard Drive).
1 copy off-site (Cloud counts as off-site).
Cloud vs. Offline
Cloud storage (OneDrive, Google Drive) is great, but modern ransomware can sometimes infect connected cloud folders. The ultimate safety net is an Offline Backup. This is an external hard drive that you plug in, copy your files to, and then unplug and put in a drawer. If it’s not plugged in, hackers can’t touch it.
Your "Easy Win" for Today
Buy a simple USB external hard drive (approx. £40). Plug it in. Copy your most critical folder (Finance/HR) onto it. Eject it. Put it in a safe. You are now ransomware-proof.
