Judy Kaldenberg, SVP Sales and Marketing, Nexsan
With ransomware incidents skyrocketing, it is no longer a question of if an attack will occur, but when. Organizations that believe that moving business-critical data to a cloud storage provider makes them immune from such threats are simply ignoring the reality. Ransomware doesn’t discriminate — every business is a potential target.
In 2023, cybercriminals extorted more than US$1 billion in cryptocurrency payments from ransomware victims. What may have started as a simple business disruption just over five years ago has now ballooned into devastating multi-million-dollar incidents, often costing businesses their reputation and leaving them in a prolonged state of recovery – if they are able to recover at all.
The limits of traditional security approaches
Ransomware attacks have become far more sophisticated over time. Rather than clumsy brute-force incidents that hopefully yield a payoff, today’s attackers are patient, carefully observing what data is most valuable, which files are most frequently accessed, and slowly gaining access to critical passwords.
Historically, organizations have relied on a combination of storage systems, snapshots, replication, and backups to ensure business continuity. But this standard strategy is now less of a defense and more of a target. Cybercriminals are increasingly focusing on these systems, knowing that they’re key to recovery.
In fact, 93% of ransomware attacks today target backups, with 75% of those incidents preventing recovery altogether, forcing companies to pay the ransom or else. In addition to operational disruptions, businesses face severe penalties for failing to comply with industry regulations on data protection of personal information.
The cloud isn’t the silver bullet
With the rise of automation and the shift to the cloud, many organizations believe they’ve found a secure, scalable, and cost-effective solution. Cloud platforms eliminate the need for expensive hardware and provide flexibility, with managed services doing the lion’s share of the work. However, cloud storage is not the panacea it’s often made out to be, especially when it comes to security.
Data security in the cloud is only as strong as the measures taken by company employees and the cloud provider. For industries like finance and healthcare, which must meet stringent regulations like PCI DSS, GDPR, and HIPAA, the cloud introduces additional challenges — chiefly the loss of control over their data. While all cloud providers offer at least some level of security, breaches still occur, often due to human error.
What happens if a hacker gains access to an organization’s cloud credentials, say, for Microsoft Azure or AWS? How accountable are these providers when breaches occur? What is the process for regaining control over these accounts? These questions are especially pressing for businesses that must protect sensitive information or comply with legal and regulatory requirements.
Immutable backups – ultimate protection
Despite best efforts, vulnerabilities remain inevitable, whether in software, hardware or cloud infrastructures. The recent CrowdStrike outage highlighted just how disastrous even a non-malicious event can be when it hits a cloud-native platform, despite the best cybersecurity assurances.
So, with vulnerabilities everywhere, is there no hope for securing data? Not necessarily.
Protecting a company’s most valuable asset — its data — remains crucial, even as data volumes grow exponentially. With more data under management and the introduction of additional resources prone to vulnerability, the challenge now is finding ways to scale while minimizing both human and technological error and ensuring data protection at every step.
The primary goal of any backup strategy is to guarantee the ability to recover data quickly and efficiently after an incident. In the age of ransomware attacks, immutable storage is critical. By adopting immutable backup solutions — such as immutable snapshots or S3 object-locking — organizations can ensure that their backup data remains unchanged, preventing cybercriminals from tampering with or deleting it. These immutable solutions protect against ransomware attacks, accidental deletions and even silent data corruption, providing an unbreakable line of defense.
Those looking to still take advantage of a cloud infrastructure while maximizing their data security might find that a hybrid cloud approach offers the best of both worlds — combining the scalability and cost-effectiveness of the public cloud with the control and security of on-premises solutions. Deploying immutable backups in hybrid environments ensure that backup data remains safe and recoverable, providing a reliable safeguard against the ever-evolving threats in the cybersecurity landscape.
The last word
While moving to the cloud offers many advantages — cost savings, scalability and greater reliability — security is not chief among them. With ransomware evolving to the point where it’s no longer a matter of if, but when, every organization is a potential target. And the truth is, most companies don’t see it coming until it’s too late.
For organizations serious about securing their data, especially those dealing with highly sensitive information, an immutable backup solution — either standalone or as part of a hybrid cloud model — is the way forward. This is particularly true for industries like healthcare and finance, where compliance with regulations is non-negotiable.
The best approach to guaranteeing your data’s safety, security and availability is to move beyond relying solely on the public cloud and instead implement an immutable backup solution. This approach not only defends against ransomware but also ensures data integrity, compliance and historical data preservation, sending a clear message to cybercriminals –- your time is wasted here. n
