Data Management for Research

Data Security and Storage

Data security and storage decision are important aspects of data management. Keeping reliable backups is an important part of data management. Regular backups protect against the risk of damage or loss due to hardware failure, software or media faults, viruses or hacking, power failure, or even human errors.

Some types of data and sensitive research may have restrictions on where you can safely put your data and its copies. 

Security
Data security refers to the protection of data from unauthorized access, use, change, disclosure and destruction and includes network security, physical security, and file security.

Security needs to be considered for all copies of your data, including your working data set, backup copies and archived copies.

• Network security
  • Keep confidential data off the Internet
  • Put sensitive materials on computers not connected to the internet
• Physical Security
  • Restrict access to buildings and rooms where computers or media are kept
  • Only let trusted individuals troubleshoot computer problems
• Computer Systems & Files
  • Keep virus protection up to date
  • Don’t sent confidential data via e-mail or FTP - use encryption, if you must send data
  • Use good passwords on files and computers

Storage & Backup
Data storage refers to holding your data files in a secure location that you can readily and easily access. Data backup, in contrast, refers to saving additional copies of your data in separate physical or virtual locations from data files in storage.

One of the most important data management tasks is keeping backups of your data. There is a real risk of losing data through hard drive failure or accidental deletion.

• Remember to use the Backup 3-2-1 Rule 
  • 3 copies of your data - 2 copies are not enough!
  • 2 different formats - i.e. internal hard drive + tape backup or DVD (short term) + flash drive
  • 1 off-site backup - have 2 physical backups and one in the cloud
• Backup options
  • Hard drives - personal or work computer
  • Departmental or institution server
  • External hard drives
  • Tape backups
  • Discipline-specific repositories
  • University archives
  • Cloud storage

Securing your data will help to prevent: