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It looks like you're dealing with a GCP Cloud Storage bucket where Object Versioning has been disabled, and the client has justified it by mentioning that they use scheduled backups instead. However, disabling versioning can have risks, such as data loss due to accidental deletions or overwrites.

Impact of Disabled GCP Object Versioning:

1. Data Loss: If a file is accidentally deleted or modified, there's no easy way to restore a previous version unless the backup has a recent copy.


2. Time-Consuming Restores: Since they rely on scheduled backups, restoring data might not be immediate, leading to downtime.


3. Backup Gaps: If a file is deleted between backup cycles, it might be permanently lost.


4. Ransomware Risks: Without versioning, malicious modifications or encryptions can't be rolled back quickly.



Alternative Remediation Options:

Since they don’t want to enable Object Versioning due to cost concerns, here are some alternatives:

1. Use Object Lifecycle Policies for Soft Deletes

Configure lifecycle rules to retain deleted objects for a certain period before permanent deletion.

Example policy: Keep deleted objects for 30 days before auto-deleting.

This ensures accidental deletions can be recovered while avoiding high storage costs.


2. Implement Nearline/Coldline Storage for Backups

Instead of keeping multiple versions in the same bucket, create a replica backup in a Nearline/Coldline storage bucket.

This is cheaper than standard storage and provides a recovery option.


3. Use Pub/Sub Notifications for Immediate Backup Triggers

Set up Cloud Pub/Sub to trigger a backup process whenever a critical file is modified or deleted.

This can reduce backup lag and ensure critical data is not lost between scheduled backups.


4. Enable Retention Policy with Lock (if compliance is a concern)

If data must be retained for a fixed period, use Retention Policies with Lock to prevent accidental deletions.

This is useful for logs, compliance, and critical application data.


Conclusion

If cost is a concern, instead of enabling full Object Versioning, they can:

Use lifecycle rules to retain deleted files for a short period.

Use Nearline/Coldline storage for periodic backups.

Set up automated triggers (Pub/Sub) for critical file changes.


Would you like help drafting a report or response for this?