Page 122 - Cyber Defense eMagazine RSAC Special Edition 2025

For one thing, backup contains copies of data from all other applications, making it a prime target for
cyber attacks.

The backup environment is also incredibly complex. Even small backup environments have numerous
components, and in larger organizations and enterprises, the number of software and hardware
components and the interactions between them is staggering. Each component typically requires access,
creating multiple potential vulnerabilities, even in security-hardened operations that use zero-trust
methods like multifactor authentication.

Unfortunately, no organization is immune, as we saw in a recent attack against a large company with
well-secured IT operations managed by an experienced provider. Even though the company did all the
right things, it still lost its backup catalog, rendering data unrecoverable. This example highlights the
difficulty in securing backup, especially since many backup products weren't designed to fend off cyber
attacks.

Why Zero Trust Alone Can’t Secure Backup

Zero trust is crucial for improving cyber protection and is widely recommended for securing infrastructure
and data. Everyone should use it wherever applicable. But backup and recovery environments need more
security than zero trust can provide. That’s because zero trust has some limitations.

1. Access is access: While zero trust makes access more difficult, the goal is still to grant access, which
can be exploited if credentials are compromised. This is an unacceptable risk for backup systems.

2. Multiple components = more vulnerability: The numerous components in a backup environment all act
as potential attack vectors. Security is often managed separately for each component, thereby increasing
the challenge.

3. Inconsistent vendor adoption: Not all technology vendors fully embrace zero-trust principles in their
product design and management. Even backup vendors that offer advanced security features typically
can’t extend these protections to all components in a backup environment.

4. Framework flaws: Legacy code and architectures could contain hidden vulnerabilities that zero-trust
methods might not recognize. For example:

o SSH and OpenSSH, designed as secure replacements for remote login protocols, can serve as
backdoor entries into some backup products.
o Log4j, commonly used for monitoring and logging events, has been the target of attacks like
Log4Shell, which exploits openings in the software. Patching these vulnerabilities across all
systems remains a challenge.

5. Lack of cyber resilience for backup: Originally designed to counter hardware failures and human errors,
backup now plays a crucial role in recovering from cyber attacks. To be truly cyber resilient, backup
environments need advanced protection that is designed to withstand sophisticated attacks and maintain
integrity when other systems are compromised. Zero-trust methods don’t do that.

122