One in four Belgians never backs up computer files

About one in four Belgians never backs up their computer files, and nearly half have lost all of their private data at least once, according to a survey of more than 900 individuals and 300 businesses by Merak. The data manager conducted the survey in collaboration with the research agency iVox, on the occasion of World Backup Day on 31 March.

While one in four Belgians say they never bother to back up their computer data, 92% understand the importance of doing so. About 46% of the respondents know what it feels like to lose all of their data, and one in 10 people have even seen it happen several times.

Merak reported "alarming results" when it comes to backing up smartphones, something that only six out of 10 respondents know how to do. "The chance of losing a mobile phone or smartphone is much greater than the chance of losing a computer or laptop. But for some reason we're more vigilant about backing up the latter," said Nicolas Uyttenhove of Merak.

Not only individuals, but also companies are not careful enough with their data, the survey shows. Only about 40% of the companies perform a daily backup.