Data Management

If your practice operates on your own server and does not have a proper backup regime in place, you are vulnerable to data loss due to viruses, ransomware, hardware failure, theft or fire.

GoodX Software provides software, but not IT related services and GoodX does not keep copies of your data.

The data that you collect on your software is of the utmost importance and it should be a priority for each practice to make sure that you contract an expert IT consultant to make sure that your IT is dealt with properly. It is imperative that your hardware keeps up to date and your backup process is implemented with all due diligence.

It is the responsibility of the practice to verify the validity of backups by checking that backups were successful with no errors and to confirm that backup files are present at the backup locations after every backup. If there is any indication that the backup is not successful, it is the responsibility of the practice to contact the IT company immediately to resolve the problem.

A big concern is that practices do not implement proper safety precautions for their servers, making the data especially vulnerable to viruses and ransomware. Best practice dictates that no emails should be opened on a server and proper fire wall protection for your server should be implemented.

The following internal controls diagram describes the processes that should be followed during the year in every practice. You will notice that each period ends with a backup to be made of the data. Different sets of hardware should be used for the different backups, as some viruses go undetected for a while.

A good procedure is to have different hardware for:
1. Monday to Friday backups
2. Week 1 - 4 backups
3. Month 1- 4 backups
4. Yearly backups.

Make independent backups i.e. to different USB media instead of rewriting to one medium. If a virus is picked up on Week 3 of Month 2, and you notice the virus only during Week 1 of Month 4, you will at least have an uncorrupted backup from Week 2 of Month 2 and not lose all your data.

Verify backup media after making a backup by testing archives and file sizes.

Every two months a disaster recovery test should be done to confirm that backups can be restored.

It is imperative that backups be kept off site in case of theft or fire. Leaving a backup device connected to the PC will not be of any use in such circumstances or in case of ransomware or viruses.