Definition
Data recovery refers to the process of restoring lost, corrupted, or inaccessible data from a storage medium. This typically involves using specialized software or hardware tools to retrieve information that has been accidentally deleted, damaged by hardware failure, or lost due to a system crash. Implementing effective data recovery strategies is crucial for business continuity, ensuring that critical information can be accessed even after an unforeseen event. For instance, a company might use backup and restore procedures to recover customer databases following a server malfunction. Unlike data backup, which is a proactive measure to create copies of data, data recovery is a reactive process to retrieve data that is currently unavailable. Knowledge of data recovery principles is often assessed in cybersecurity and IT infrastructure certification exams such as CompTIA Security+ and AWS Certified Solutions Architect Associate.