The frequency and sophistication of ransomware prove how crucial it is to protect an organization’s data, as half (45%) of attacks target backup repositories. Yet, many organizations’ backup processes remain insufficient. Consequently, the ability to restore data could be the difference between the damage to a company’s reputation and the verge of bankruptcy or evading headlines as the next cyberattack victim.
Still, 41% of organizations acknowledge their staff lack the skills to manage complex storage systems successfully, and a whopping 69% name tight budgets as a hindrance to hiring security experts who positively shift their security posture. IT teams with strapped bandwidth to focus specifically on cybersecurity should account for simplicity as a powerful vehicle to upgrade their backup strategies in a manner that ensures data protection and business continuity.
Also Read:A Comprehensive Guide to DDoS Protection Strategies for Modern Enterprises
Threats to Backup Data are Threats to a Business’s Bottom-line
Given the current threat landscape, 97% of IT leaders plan to invest in secure, immutable backup storage. Across industries, hackers are attracted to data backups because they typically yield a lucrative payday for the attacker. They have realized that the repositories neutralize their extortion threats by allowing companies an avenue to restore. So now, the efficiency of ransomware lies in compromising an organization’s backup. This inhibits their ability to access encrypted data, causing increased pressure on victims to concede to larger ransom payouts to recover their data.
Among these pressing threats, outdated backup solutions that lack encryption compound vulnerabilities and weaken an organization’s overall security posture. Beyond ransom payments, insufficient backup security has direct consequences, such as prolonged downtime (reported by 56% of survey respondents) and company-wide disruptions that potentially spawn revenue loss. Almost half (44%) of respondents shared that it took months to recover their data fully.
Cybercriminals are keen on the current gaps in backup security. Businesses must upgrade their backup processes to level the playing field and preserve their reputation and bottom line. For IT teams primarily tasked with managing strategies to mitigate and prevent data disruption, there is a call to instill consistent, secure, powerful, and aligned strategies and infrastructure with the latest security standards.
Building Better Backup Processes with ZTDR
Alongside outdated backup solutions, many organizations’ vulnerabilities may stem from the liabilities of human error and constrained IT teams. Considering talent or budget to issues, the need for smoother processes is evident –– backup solutions must be simpler to manage and deploy.
Complexity has been built into many data centers as they house various servers, networking equipment, and storage devices that must all be digitally interconnected. Though this complexity may be necessary for certain services, securing them is also more challenging, especially for teams lacking expertise and resources. When looking to integrate streamlined processes, IT teams should elevate simplicity, aiming to implement a tool that is easier to monitor, understand, and secure.
Establishing a clear policy regarding potential security threats reduces the likelihood of mistakes by ensuring all staff know how to respond. For more extensive IT management of backups, 93% of leaders plan to adopt the Zero Trust Data Resilience (ZTDR) framework. This strategy emphasizes reducing the amount of access and privileges admins and backup services have while also better segmenting the interconnected backup infrastructure. While it may seem initially complex, ZTDR creates a holistic understanding of access and connectivity granted to an organization’s backup infrastructure, which guarantees clarity during future incidents.
For IT-oriented teams, immutability stands out as a pillar of ZTDR that can significantly enhance backup data security, providing staff with the time to focus on more strategic issues. A backup storage solution with true immutability (including zero access to root or the operating system) protects backup data from modification, deletion, or corruption. The attack surface is significantly reduced when immutable storage is used with a separate physical appliance from the backup data mover. Immutable backup storage is the last line of defense, defending against comprised admins or external threat actors.
ZTDR strategies should also include segmentation, which suggests separating backup software and backup storage to reduce the attack surface further and help admins enforce the least privilege access principle. This approach reduces the potential blast radius in the event of a cyber incident by creating a physical and logical separation between the data mover and storage and is further bolstered by limiting privilege and access by services and users, ensuring if one element is breached, the other remains intact. Segmentation enhances durability by isolating essential data and systems, making it significantly harder for malicious actors to compromise in a single breach.
Also Read:Â Protecting APIs at the Edge
The third ZTDR principle is creating multiple data resilience zones compliant with the 3-2-1-1-0 backup rule. Safeguarding data with 3-2-1 recommends three copies, two storage mediums, and one off-site version. However, this original rule, stemming from the US Computer Emergency Team in 2012, now calls for one extra immutable copy offline and zero errors upon backups. In today’s ever-evolving cyber threat landscape, following the latest requirements meets the need for enhanced data protection with multi-layered security.
Adopting Zero Trust Data resilience practices can substantially improve an organization’s backup security posture and reduce the amount of individual access required for management, which can be a complementary byproduct for overwhelmed IT teams.
Security needs Simplicity
By streamlining security policies, businesses can avoid the financial and operational consequences of insufficient backup security among increasingly hostile cyber threats. Understaffed IT teams grappling with complexity should proactively upgrade their backup processes with ZTDR to protect data as part of a comprehensive cybersecurity strategy.
With ransomware threats intensifying against backups, investing in secure, simple, and powerful backup strategies is no longer optional, it’s a necessity.
