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    Back up your data

    IMPORTANT – if you process confidential information on a non-Keele University supplied IT device e.g. PC, iPAD, Tablet Laptop etc. you must abide by the BYOD (Bring Your Own Device), Mobile Device and Encryption guidance documents located on the Keele University website. Absolutely no confidential data can be stored for an extended length of time on a BYOD device and must be transferred to Keele’s IT network where it will be stored securely and backed-up regularly.

    Data on Google drives

    Be aware that Google does not back up any files or databases (EXCEL spreadsheet for example) and therefore if you delete a file, for whatever reason, the IT Department is unable to recover this for you. Therefore, if you have any critical data that you cannot afford to lose, confidential data or data that could cause embarrassment to the university should a breach occur you MUST have an up-to-date copy on the Keele IT network which is regularly backed up and therefore provides safe and secure retention of your data.

    Absolutely no confidential data can be stored on Google Drives!

    Transfer data to Keele IT network

    To be able to transfer data to Keele’s IT network for secure storage and to access your electronic network drives, folders and files you will need to request VPN (Virtual Private Network) to be set up on your device.

    Back up, how often?

    This will depend on the type of data you are processing however a useful rule of thumb is:

    • If it would be a disaster to lose everything from the last week, then backup more frequently than once a week
    • If it would be a disaster to lose everything from the last day, then backup more frequently than once a day.

    For non-confidential data and information you could also create a monthly archive to an external hard drive or other storage media. Apart from providing another backup, this also provides a snapshot of work done, which might be useful for audit purposes (for staff) or for documenting learning (for student dissertations and research projects).

    Back up what?

    You do not need to worry about anything processed or stored on Keele’s secure IT network as this is regularly backed-up on your behalf. If you do need to restore a file from a backup that you have deleted in error and cannot recover from the Recycle Bin please contact the IT Service Desk.

    On your own device(s) you should back up anything that is not easily replaced in the event of a catastrophic device failure. This would include, but not limited to: your academic work, digital photos, music, any files on your home C: drive etc.

    Back up media

    External hard drives are the best and most reliable devices to use for the backup of non-confidential information. These can be encrypted as per the IT guidance.