Comparing Motorcycle Safety to Data Protection Preparedness

The weather in Ontario has just started to consistently stay above freezing temperatures, even some days spiking up to 18 degrees (64F for my American counterparts). This has me thinking about one thing only; getting back on my motorcycle as soon as possible and enjoying the open road. However, as a new rider as of last year, I have prioritized safety and learning from others experiences.

I do this by watching a Youtube Channel called "DanDanTheFireman". On this channel, Dan promotes motorcycle safety by reviewing footage of motorcycle incidents and providing after-action analysis of what went wrong, and would go have been done better.

One of the methods/concepts that Dan teaches is called "MTC (Motorcycle Training Concepts) Awareness Stages". These 5 stages refer to the frame of mind a rider may be in at any given point in their ride. Later in this post I will look at these stages from a data protection mindset

1. White Stage (Unaware) – The rider is completely unaware of their surroundings and potential hazards. They may be distracted, riding without scanning for dangers, or simply not trained in situational awareness.
2. Yellow Stage (Aware & Prepared) – The rider is actively scanning the road, maintaining a safety cushion, and identifying potential hazards. This is the ideal riding mindset for most situations.
3. Orange Stage (Threat Identified) – The rider has identified a specific hazard (e.g., a car about to merge into their lane). They begin planning their escape route and adjusting their speed or position.
4. Red Stage (Emergency Response) – The hazard has become an immediate danger, and the rider must take decisive action (e.g., emergency braking or swerving) to avoid a crash.
5. Brown Stage (Panic & Loss of Control) – The rider is overwhelmed, panics, and may freeze or react improperly, increasing the likelihood of a crash. This stage is what proper training aims to avoid.

Dan's training drills into you the importance of always staying in the Yellow "Aware and Prepared" stages, rather than zoning out and falling into White stage, which may be tempting to do during a ride.

Likewise the training also highlights the importance of avoiding the "Brown Stage" (Extra points if you understand that choice in color for this stage). Brown stage indicates a breakdown in performance leading to disastrous results. This stage is avoided by intentional and regular practice of your skills.

This kind of mindset has already saved me from multiple potential incidents on the road, and while it remains so important for my riding, it made me wonder how these stages could apply to Data Protection and Incident Preparedness.

I believe the same mindset applies to data protection. Just like a distracted rider in the White Stage is at high risk, businesses that neglect to follow backup best practices are also in danger. On the other hand, a well-prepared IT team, like a skilled motorcyclist, operates in the Yellow Stage—always ready for potential threats, with a solid recovery plan in place.

Here are the correlations I was able to draw:

1. White Stage (Unaware) → No backups or an outdated, poorly maintained backup strategy. The business is unaware of the risks of data loss.
2. Yellow Stage (Aware & Prepared) → A well-implemented backup and recovery strategy is in place, regularly tested, and actively monitored using Veeam. This is the ideal state to maintain.
3. Orange Stage (Threat Identified) → A potential data loss incident (e.g., Veeam ONE detects that backups are taking longer than usual, Inline Malware Detection alarms received) is detected, and the team is actively working to investigate and mitigate the risk.
4. Red Stage (Emergency Response) → A critical failure is confirmed to have occurred, and the organization is executing its disaster recovery plan.
5. Brown Stage (Panic & Loss of Control) → No tested recovery plan exists, backups are missing or corrupted, and the business is in full-blown crisis mode.

Just like motorcycle safety, the key to effective data protection isn’t waiting for a crisis to force action—it’s about maintaining constant awareness and preparedness. Just as experienced (and new!) motorcyclists train to maintain the Yellow Stage—constantly scanning for hazards and staying prepared—we should strive for the same level of awareness with our data protection strategies.

PS. This has been my first blog post (ever). I would welcome any feedback on how to improve re: clarity, conciseness, etc. Feel free to DM me with any of this feedback.