Why Third-Party Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace Backups Are Essential to Prevent Data Loss

Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace make so many things easy. Essential applications all in one package. Anytime/anywhere access to information. Easy-to-use tools. It’s no wonder so many organizations benefit from these leading productivity suites—and why so many employees love them.

When using these cloud applications, organizations rely upon Microsoft and Google to store sensitive information. Of course, you know that cybercriminals keep developing more sophisticated ways to exfiltrate your organization’s data—and the Microsoft and Google ecosystems are sweet targets.

However, we find across many IT teams that they don’t realize default settings are not enough to protect the security of your Microsoft and Google data. These cloud application providers do not typically offer adequate cybersecurity protection to help you fend off many modern cyberattacks such as phishing, brute force attacks, and ransomware.

Let’s dig deeper into the limitations around native Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace backups.

1. Limited Data Retention and Recovery Capabilities

Data retention is an important part of an organization’s operations—whether from internal policy, laws (such as municipal records retention laws), or industry regulations. Yet, native retention options within Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace may not meet important requirements.

For example, deleted files and emails are typically only recoverable for a limited time (such as 30 days for deleted items in Microsoft 365). Once the retention period expires, data is permanently deleted.

2. Lack of Protection Against User Error

With more robust data backup solutions, files or emails can usually be recovered. But when users accidentally delete files or emails within Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace, they may be permanently gone and not recoverable after the retention period. Additionally, accidental changes or overwrites to documents may also not be recoverable.

3. Vulnerability to Cyberattacks and Insider Threats

With default settings, your Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace data is vulnerable to ransomware attacks. The ransomware malware can alter, encrypt, and delete data, easily accessing the Microsoft and Google backups. You are also at the mercy of the application provider’s default backup schedules, so you may lose recent data. Even worse, employees with malicious intent and sufficient permissions can intentionally delete or corrupt data, which may bypass native protections.

4. Limited Backup Features

It’s important to note that Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace do not provide you with true backups. Versioning, syncing, and trash folders are not acceptable backups because they lack comprehensive, separate copies of data stored in independent locations. When data is not backed up outside of the application provider’s ecosystem, it creates a single point of failure.

5. Lack of Granular Control

Native tools may not support granular recovery such as restoring a single file or email from a specific point in time. It’s likely you may require more granular recovery options such as restoring only specific parts of a mailbox or folder.

What IT Directors Should Do to Address Native Backup Limitations

There are a few ways to ensure that you aren’t relying too much on native data backup features from Microsoft or Google. To mitigate these risks, IT directors should:

1. Implement a third-party backup and recovery solution tailored for Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace.

Such a solution should include:

• Comprehensive data protection: This ensures that all data is securely backed up with longer retention periods and more granular recovery options—allowing you to recover data even after it has been permanently deleted from the native platform.
• A resilient backup solution: Look for advanced ransomware protection such as immutable backups and more frequent backup schedules. This resilience ensures that you can recover your data without paying a ransom, maintaining business continuity.
• Quick recovery: Faster and more reliable data restoration is the goal. You need a solution that can help you quickly resume operations after a disaster, minimizing downtime and its associated costs.

2. Develop a comprehensive data protection strategy for your backups.

Your strategy should include:

• Secure, immutable backups: Store your backups in secure, geographically dispersed data centers where they cannot be altered or deleted by ransomware or unauthorized users.
• Data encryption: Your data should be encrypted using AES-256 encryption both in transit and at rest, ensuring secure data storage and transfer.
• Regular testing: Periodic backup testing ensures your files, documents, and data can be successfully restored. You don’t want to find out you can’t restore your backups after an incident.

3. Ensure compliance by mapping retention policies to industry regulations and legal requirements.

Tailor your backup solution to meet specific compliance requirements including long-term data retention, detailed audit logs, and eDiscovery capabilities. A separate backup provider allows organizations to enforce consistent retention policies across all services, ensuring that no critical data falls through the cracks. This uniformity enhances overall data protection and compliance.

Look for a solution that supports unlimited retention of your data backups, allowing you to keep records for as long as needed to meet regulatory or business continuity requirements.

4. Implement cybersecurity best practices to protect data.

Within your Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace ecosystem, it’s important to implement cybersecurity measures that help protect your data and lessen the chances of permanent data loss.

• Multi-factor authentication (MFA): You can apply conditional access policies that enforce MFA for administrative portals, individual users, and high-risk sign-ins. When 99.9% of account compromise attacks can be blocked by MFA, consider these policies essential.
• Geo-Blocking: This conditional access policy restricts or blocks access to your data depending on the geographic location of the user. Because many cyberattackers using stolen credentials often operate in specific countries where employees are unlikely to be located, you can ensure that data can only be accessed from approved countries or regions.
• Blocking legacy authentication measures: Cyberattackers often exploit legacy authentication through brute-force and password spray attacks. For example, IMAP, POP, SMTP, MAPI, and older versions of ActiveSync don’t support MFA and are vulnerable to compromise.

Have you overlooked data backups for Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace? Reach out to us today.