I find this decision extraordinary at a time when cyber threats are increasing.
By disallowing customer-controlled local backups, MYOB is removing an important layer of resilience from businesses' data protection strategies. While provider-managed cloud backups have benefits, preventing customers from maintaining independent backup copies appears inconsistent with widely accepted principles of cyber risk management and business continuity.
I will now have to disclose to my business practice insurer that I can no longer maintain local backups of MYOB data, (one of the questions asked at our last renewal).
With this decision MYOB is accepting 100% responsibility for all security risks against my data.
What assurances do MYOB provide that my backups are completely protected from cyber threats?
What happens to backups that age past the 6 months?
Apparently they are deleted from MYOB's data centre altogether. They don't keep them any longer than the 6 months. We now have to advise are QA manager that keeping our own backups is no longer an option.
Access to backups older than 6 months is important particularly for forensic accounting purposes.
What MYOB are forcing users do is find an alternative method of capturing snapshots of historical transactional data.
Seems like old school exports to spreadsheets will be the only option available to capture data locally.
At least Xero users have access to third party backup solutions. I have advised clients away from Xero because of Xero's failure to provide local backup solutions.
This decision is an epic fail from MYOB.
