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Lesson 5 of 6
Digital · Guided lesson

Secure devices and backups

Reduce damage from loss, theft, malware, hardware failure, and accidental deletion.

About 27 minutes • Finish with a concrete deliverable
Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security AgencySecure Our WorldYouTube
Course primer

Secure Our World

From Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency. Watch here or open it on YouTube .

Use CISA's update guidance as the prevention layer, then add a separate recovery layer for failure, theft, ransomware, and accidental deletion.
Before you begin

What this lesson is really solving.

Enable automatic updates, screen lock, device encryption, safe software sources, and location or remote-wipe features where appropriate. Back up irreplaceable data to more than one place and test restoration; synchronization alone can copy deletion or corruption.

Why this works

Understand the idea before touching the steps.

A backup is real only when it is separate, recent, and restorable.

Do this

Follow these steps in order.

Take the action in each step; then use the deliverable below to prove the lesson is finished.

  1. 1

    Enable automatic operating-system, browser, and app updates on supported devices.

  2. 2

    Use screen locks, device encryption, trusted software sources, and least-privilege accounts.

  3. 3

    Keep important data in multiple copies with at least one separated from the everyday device or account.

  4. 4

    Test restoring a sample file and record what is not covered by the backup.

Worked example

See the standard in context.

Sam keeps working files on an encrypted laptop, syncs a current copy to a protected cloud account, and creates a periodic encrypted offline backup disconnected after use. A quarterly restore test successfully opens ten sampled photos and documents.

Quality check

Inspect before you move on.

  • Operating system, browser, apps, and router firmware follow a current update plan.
  • A lost device locks quickly and does not expose unencrypted data.
  • At least one backup is isolated and a restore was actually tested.
Make it real

Your deliverable

Updated and encrypted devices plus a documented, tested backup routine.

Common mistake

Watch for this

Assuming file sync is a complete backup when deletion or ransomware can synchronize too.

You’re ready when

Prove it—don’t just recognize it.

You can restore one important file without using the original device.

Objective evidence · 3 questions

Quick knowledge check

Answer from the lesson—not from confidence alone. Score at least 2 of 3 to unlock completion.

Not yet passed

This curriculum-aligned check is scored automatically and stored with your account when signed in. It is an objective learning signal, but it has not yet been independently validated as a standardized assessment.

1Which action belongs in the recommended process for “Secure devices and backups”?
2Which result is the clearest evidence that this lesson’s work is complete?
3Which choice matches the failure this lesson specifically warns against?
0 of 3 answeredEach question measures the action, evidence, or failure condition taught above.
Useful for this course

Tools, templates, and references

The Life Starter toolkitReusable planners and trackers for practical projects.
Check current detailsReferences reviewed September 9, 2026. Lesson exercises are editorial synthesis; official rules come from the linked sources.
CISA — Secure Our WorldNIST — Small business cybersecurity
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One check remains

Pass the knowledge check above first.

Completion unlocks after a score of 2 out of 3. Then confirm that you produced the lesson deliverable.

Go to the knowledge check