In the field of information technology, data loss refers to the unforeseen loss of data or information. An occurrence of data loss can be called a Data Loss Event and there are several possible root causes. Data loss must be distinguished from data unavailability, such as may arise from a network outage. Although the two have substantially similar effects, data unavailability is temporary while data loss is permanent. Backup and recovery schemes are developed to restore lost data.
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In the field of information technology, data loss refers to the unforeseen loss of data or information. An occurrence of data loss can be called a Data Loss Event and there are several possible root causes. Data loss must be distinguished from data unavailability, such as may arise from a network outage. Although the two have substantially similar effects, data unavailability is temporary while data loss is permanent. Backup and recovery schemes are developed to restore lost data.
Types of Data Loss Events
- Intentional Action
- Intentional deletion of a file or program
- Unintentional Action
- Accidental deletion of a file or program
- Misplacement of CDs or floppies
- Administration errors
- Inability to read unknown file format
- Failure
- Power failure, resulting in data in volatile memory not being saved to permanent memory.
- Hardware failure, such as a head crash in a hard disk.
- A software crash or freeze, resulting in data not being saved.
- Software bugs or poor usability, such as not confirming a file delete command.
- Data corruption, such as filesystem corruption or database corruption.
- Disaster
- Natural disaster, earthquake, flood, tornado, etc.
- Fire
- Crime
- Theft, hacking, sabotage, etc.
- A malicious act, such as a worm, virus, hacker or theft of physical media.
Studies have consistently shown hardware failure and human error to be two most common causes of data loss, accounting for roughly three quarters of all incidents. A commonly overlooked cause is a natural disaster. Although the probability is small, the only way to recover from data loss due to a natural disaster is to store backup data in a physically separate location.
Data recovery
main: Data recovery
There are commercial services that attempt to recover data from physically damaged media. These services are typically very expensive. Filesystem corruption can frequently be repaired by the user or the system administrator with the right software tools. A deleted file is rarely overwritten on disk. It is more common for the operating system to simply delete its entry in the filesystem index. This can be easily reversed.
Cost of data loss
The cost of a Data Loss Event is directly related to the value of the data and the length of time that it is needed, but unavailable. Consider:
- The cost of continuing without the data.
- The cost of recreating the data.
- The cost of notifying users in the event of a compromise
Organizational Responsibility
Recent statistics show the number of publicized data loss events involving sensitive data is on the rise, in part due to recent legislation, including the landmark California SB 1386, requiring the notification of data loss. This and other legislation has forced organizations to notify victims that their identity has potentially been compromised.
