Missing Google Drive files?

A sobering thread has been taking shape on the Google Drive Help forum over the past week under the title of “Google Drive files suddenly disappeared…”

The affected users explains that on November 22, 2023, their entire Drive suddenly reverted to its May 2023 state, instantly wiping out all files saved to the service over the past five months. Logs show no activity since May, and Google’s recovery tool was unable to restore the files.

Unfortunately, user Yeonjoong is not the only one experiencing this problem. At the time of publication, 166 other people having clicked “I have this same problem” under the thread. Several other users have replied over the past week that months of their data has inexplicably disappeared. Business users are expressing serious concerns that months (or in some cases, years) of their data has been irreversibly erased.

Google’s support team has been unable to resolve the issue, and the original poster is currently waiting for a response from Google engineers on how to recover these critical files. For the meantime, Google recommends that any affected users do not make any changes to the Drive root folder.

This is not the first time that Google Drive files have gone missing. In 2021, a fire in one Google’s European datacenters provoked a watery response from fire suppression equipment, which in turn impacted the data of Google customers with data stored in those centers. Even if your data is not physically stored on your personal computer, it is stored somewhere. Data in the cloud can be lost to natural disasters at data centers, technological hiccups, ransomware attacks, human error, or malfeasance.

Whether you use Google Drive, Microsoft OneDrive, or another cloud service as your primary file repository, the cloud is not infallible. Most people do not realize that many cloud storage providers like Google Drive do not automatically back up the files that they host, which is why a more thorough backup system is usually the best decision.

How can you avoid data loss on the Google Drive or another cloud storage solution?

Google Drive and Microsoft OneDrive are often the most convenient cloud storage solutions since many business clients already use these platforms. However, no one should ever leave all of their precious data eggs in one basket.

In order to protect your business from data loss in the cloud or on your desktop, practice the data backup 3-2-1 rule.

3. Keep three copies of your data. (One primary + two copies.)

2. Save the files on two types of media. (External hard drive, cloud storage, desktop, etc.)

1. Maintain at least one copy in a different physical location. (Usually in the cloud.)

Many small businesses now maintain a local desktop copy and a OneDrive or Google Drive cloud copy of each file. The only remaining choice is to decide how to store the third copy.

Automated offsite backup services like Backblaze, Carbonite, and iDrive form the backbone of a good disaster recovery plan. The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) recommends that users “employ a backup solution that automatically and continuously backs up your business-critical data and system configurations.”

SMBs that are not quite sure how to implement reliable backup with adequate redundancies can work with a managed service providers (MSP) to remove any lingering doubts. At NOC Technology, we provide our clients across Missouri and beyond with comprehensive IT support that takes the 3-2-1 rule into account. If you want to learn more about how to protect your business data against unexpected loss, let us know. We would love to meet you.