AI to the Rescue: Revolutionizing Data Recovery for Digital Assets
About the author: David Chen is the VP and CTO of DataNumen, a global leader in data recovery with solutions trusted by Fortune Global 500 companies and customers worldwide.
Introduction
Artificial Intelligence (AI) has become a game-changer in the world of technology and computers. This also includes the world of data recovery technology. In short, AI has been transformative towards data recovery technology by increasing efficiency, accuracy and automation when it comes to retrieving lost or corrupted data.
Top institutions that are benefitting through using AI in data recovery include those involved in healthcare, finance, e-commerce and telecommunications. These institutions are those which are susceptible to data theft and accidental deletions, issues which can have catastrophic effects on society. Today thanks to AI, we can mitigate these issues better than before. n
So how has AI helped data recovery?
Reducing the potential of human error
Humans make errors, everyone does. For more complex data recovery, AI can help to ensure that human input is accurate by analyzing and providing feedback. AI today can also be used in real-time as a user attempts data recovery, giving them insight and suggestions that they may have not considered.
Faster and more accurate data recovery
AI-powered algorithms are able to analyze storage structures such as file systems and partitions more reliably than other old-fashioned methods. Machine learning (ML) models are able to recognize patterns by analyzing corrupted data and improve the chances of successful recovery.
AI can successfully rebuild damaged files through learning from and analyzing intact data structures including reconstructing JPEGs, PDFs and databases. Deep learning can help by identifying file signatures. It also can do so even if metadata is missing.
Predictive analytics which is a core component of AI is able to detect signs of storage device failure such as a bad SSD or HDD which is a common precursor of data loss. If you are aware that your SSD, HDD or hardware will soon fail, you can back it up to either another drive or a cloud environment which will lead to you avoiding stressful and dreaded data recovery which could be very costly if professional help is needed.
Many data recovery software applications have become even more powerful due to the introduction of AI assistance. They are also now trained to provide better warnings than they have in the past.
Automated Recovery Processes
AI has not yet removed the need for human intervention in complex problems. It after all cannot derive information that is not yet known to humans and still needs to be taught by humans.
It is an unfortunate reality that there are scammers in the data recovery industry. These individuals will unfortunately sometimes take advantage of trusting customers by charging them an exorbitant amount of money for a fairly simple data recovery operation. Today, AI can successfully complete simple data recovery operations-potentially saving the customer a lot of money.
Data recovery has historically been manual, very time-consuming and created limitations with regard to time. When data theft is conducted by criminals, it can also be very costly and create time-sensitive problems as seasoned criminals may strike you at an inconvenient time such as when you need to submit something shortly or when you need the information at a critically important time. Today, AI is able to offer solutions to problems which can combat issues contributing to time sensitive data loss.
Through automating scan and repair workflows, AI also reduces manual intervention which can save the experts time when conducting more complex data recovery operations. Natural Language Processing (NLP) is a process which helps in sorting and categorizing recovered documents.
When files have been encrypted with ransomware, AI can detect it and then try to restore them to its original format by using known decryption patterns. Furthermore, behavioral AI models are able to identify malware induced corruption and then isolate the affected sectors.
What does the future hold for AI in data recovery
If one thing is almost certain it is that AI will continue to progress at a similar pace to how handheld phones have progressed over the last 20 years. Twenty years ago, most phones did not even have internet yet today we can use our phones to take photos which can sometimes match those taken by expensive elaborate cameras.
You may wonder what future data recovery concepts could be enhanced by AI and this includes:
· Self-healing storage systems: These will automatically recover data without the need for human intervention. While AI cannot resolve complex problems today without human intervention, that may not be the case for the far future. It may get to a state where it can solve more problems without human intervention- not just the simple ones.
· Quantum computing and AI: This will aid ultra-fast decryption and recovery. The criminals who try to steal or compromise your data when you are on the verge of delivering time-sensitive data might not have an easy time in the future. This may make it possible to resolve rather complex data loss in a fraction of time.
· Blockchain-integrated AI: This will make it possible to establish tamper-proof data restoration. In order words, recover data without the possibility of it being lost again. While this may seem far-fetched right now, it is not if you consider what we have achieved over the last two decades. In the early and mid-2000s, people were still using floppy disks. The idea of cloud storage which essentially stores your data indefinitely seemed far-fetched at that time.
Conclusion
Data recovery can still be very complicated and expensive if it is very complex. AI is only helping us to get better at performing data recovery. We are constantly refining and improving the ways in which we are able to recover data. While complex data recovery still requires human intervention, we may eventually get to a point where AI will surpass humans at performing data recovery.
Today AI can even solve simple data recovery operations. If you have a data recovery problem which is not time-sensitive, it may be a good idea to consult AI in order to check if you can troubleshoot the problem yourself using information given before consulting more sophisticated hands.
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