70 Years of Footage Became Unaccessible One Day

Let’s get straight to the point.

Nine PBS, a PBS station in St. Louis, lost access to 50TB of data, including COVID-19 pandemic news footage and local archival footage spanning the last 70 years. Everything suddenly became “invisible” one day.

The cause was not hacking or ransomware. The cloud storage provider they entrusted their data to cut off all communication.

Nine PBS is currently seeking the return of their data through a lawsuit. Iron Mountain, which physically manages the data center, has refused to release the data. The data is “there,” yet it cannot be retrieved. Legal fees, business interruptions, and the need to build alternative solutions—what is lost is not just data. Time and money are disappearing like water down a drain.

Do you think this is just a distant problem?

For small businesses, this incident is not someone else’s issue. In fact, a small business without sufficient resources could be completely ruined by this. That’s the reality.

—

“I’m Safe Because It’s in the Cloud” Is the Biggest Risk

Many small businesses believe that cloud storage is their “backup.”

This is incorrect. The cloud is a storage location, not a backup strategy.

Backup means “maintaining a state where the original data can be restored even if it is lost.” Storing data in only one cloud location is akin to putting all your cash in a drawer. If the drawer is taken away, it’s all over.

Let’s break down the risks highlighted by the Nine PBS case from the perspective of small businesses.

—

Pattern 1: The Provider Disappears

The Nine PBS case exemplifies this. The cloud provider ceases operations, becomes unreachable, or goes bankrupt.

You might think, “We use AWS or Google, so we’re fine.” However, consider the reality for small businesses. It’s not uncommon for them to use low-cost storage services that charge a few hundred yen per month to keep costs down. Often, these services are run by startups with just five employees.

There’s nothing wrong with low-cost services. The problem is that the data exists only there.

Let’s think in concrete numbers. Suppose a small business has operational data ranging from 500GB to 1TB. They store this data in a low-cost cloud service for 500 yen a month. It’s cheap. But when that 500 yen service disappears, what is lost? Customer data, invoices, contracts, past productions, email archives—these are the backbone of the business. The cost to recover this data is conservatively estimated to be hundreds of thousands to millions of yen. If recovery is possible, that’s still better than losing credibility, clients, and potentially going out of business.

By skimping on 500 yen a month, they are shouldering a risk worth millions. Are you aware of this structure?

—

Pattern 2: Data Exists but Cannot Be Accessed

Another issue that occurred at Nine PBS is this: Iron Mountain, which manages the data center, has refused to release the data. There are various reasons—contractual entanglements, legal issues, disputes between operating companies—but the result is the same. You cannot access your own data.

This can happen to small businesses as well. For example:

• A web development company created a business system, and the data is on that company’s server. The contract with the development company has ended. When they requested the data transfer, they were charged additional fees.
• They were using a SaaS tool, but the service raised its prices. They want to switch, but the data export function is restricted, making it impossible to download everything in CSV format.
• Important files are left in cloud storage linked to a former employee’s personal account.

In all these cases, “the data exists,” yet “access is denied.” This pattern occurs more frequently than physical loss. The troubling part is that you often only realize it after it happens.

—

Pattern 3: It’s Broken Without You Realizing

The third pattern is having a backup that you think exists but is actually non-functional.

You may have set up automatic backups, but they stopped three months ago due to running out of space. The backup hard drive failed, but no one checked. There’s a backup, but no one knows the restoration procedure—.

I can confidently say this is the most common pattern among small businesses. Why? Because “being able to restore” is 100 times more important than “taking backups,” yet almost no small businesses conduct restoration tests.

They conduct fire drills but not data restoration drills, even though the probability of data loss is higher.

—

So, What Should We Do?

No need for abstract discussions. Let’s outline a concrete backup system that small businesses can implement “starting today.”

Follow the 3-2-1 Rule

The basic principle of backup is the “3-2-1 rule.”

• Keep three copies (the original + two backups)
• Store them on two different types of media (cloud + external HDD, etc.)
• Keep one off-site (in a physically separate location)

That’s it. It’s simple, but you’ll find that less than 10% of small businesses actually follow this.

Specific Configuration and Monthly Costs

Let’s consider an example assuming a small business has data ranging from 500GB to 1TB.

① Local Backup (External HDD/NAS)

• 4TB external HDD: about 10,000 yen (initial investment)
• Automatic backup software (free options are fine. For Windows, use BunBackup; for Mac, use Time Machine)
• Set it to automatically take differential backups every day
• Monthly cost: about the cost of electricity. Effectively 0 yen

② Cloud Backup (Different System)

• Backblaze B2: about 750 yen per month for 1TB (around $5)
• Google Workspace Business Starter: 680 yen per month (30GB per user, but for Business Standard, it’s 1,360 yen per month for 2TB)
• Wasabi Hot Cloud Storage: about 900 yen per month for 1TB
• The important thing is to use a different service from the cloud you normally use.

③ Quarterly Restoration Tests

• Actually restore files from the backup
• Time required: 30 minutes to 1 hour
• Cost: 0 yen
• Whether you do this or not can determine your survival in a crisis.

Total monthly cost: about 750 yen to 2,000 yen. Even with the initial investment, it’s in the tens of thousands of yen.

Compare this to the lawsuit costs of Nine PBS, which nearly lost 50TB. The difference is four digits.

—

Take It a Step Further: Decide “Who Will Do It”

Even if you establish a backup system, it’s meaningless if it becomes dependent on one person.

It’s common in small businesses for “one knowledgeable employee to handle everything.” If that employee leaves, all the backup settings, passwords, and restoration procedures vanish.

There are three things you should do:

1. Create a procedure manual. One to two A4 pages are sufficient. Write down “where everything is” and “what to do when restoring.”
2. Share password management. Use a free password manager like Bitwarden to share the admin account among multiple people.
3. Schedule restoration tests in the calendar. Once a quarter. Just 15 minutes. Set an automatic reminder so you don’t forget.

This will prevent dependency on a single person. No special skills are required. All that’s needed is the “will to establish a system.”

—

The Essence of This Incident

The crisis of Nine PBS losing 50TB of data is not a technology problem. It’s a problem of mental paralysis that comes from thinking “I’m safe because I entrusted it to someone else.”

The cloud is convenient. I’m not saying don’t use it. Just be aware that the moment you entrust your data to the cloud, you are relinquishing some control over it.

Large companies have dedicated IT departments, multi-cloud strategies, and disaster recovery plans. Small businesses don’t have those resources.

That’s why it’s essential to do simple, inexpensive things starting today.

Buy an external HDD. Set up automatic backups. Contract another cloud backup service. Conduct a restoration test once a quarter. Write a one-page procedure manual on A4.

Even doing all this will only cost about 2,000 yen a month and half a day’s work.

I want to ask you in return: If all your company’s data disappeared right now, could you operate starting tomorrow?

If your answer is “No,” then before closing this article, I hope you start by ordering an HDD.