Page 121 - Cyber Defense eMagazine June 2020 Edition

Securing data backups

This brings us to a conversation around ultra-resilient backup storage – the single most effective form of
storage to be resilient against ransomware. There are a number of ways organizations can achieve this
level of protection to ensure their data backups do not resemble a back door for cyber-attackers.

The first is utilising offline tapes, which are a very effective air-gapped form of backup media. While tape
is often purported to be an old-fashioned and inefficient storage technology, it cannot be beaten when it
comes to producing highly portable, secure and reliable backups at low-cost. Much like tape, removable
drives have an offline element in that they are not online unless being read-from or written-to. This makes
them a preferable option when it comes to reducing the visibility of backed up files to malicious agents.

Immutable backups in the cloud, such as AWS S3 storage’s compliance mode for object lock, supported
by Veeam, mean backup data stored in the cloud cannot be deleted by ransomware, malicious
administrators or even accidentally. This is available in the public AWS S3 offering as well as a number
of S3-Compatible storage systems (both on-premises and as a public offering). Furthermore, Veeam
Cloud Connect offers protection through a capability where copies of backup data can be kept completely
out of bounds for customers. This is delivered through a service provider and helps end-users protect
against ransomware, insider threats and accidental deletion.

CSOs are constantly weighing up a trade-off between convenience and security. While enterprises
undergoing digital transformation have multiple investment needs, protecting against ransomware is
critical to ensuring business continuity. Offsite and offline backups can help mitigate the effects
of ransomware. Combined with the right security solutions and employee training, ultra-resilient backup
for Cloud Data Management can give organizations peace of mind that they are as protected as they can
possibly be even in this evolving threat landscape.

About the Author

Rick Vanover (MVP, vExpert, Cisco Champion) is
the director of Technical Product Marketing &
Evangelism for Veeam Software based in Columbus,
Ohio. Rick’s IT experience includes system
administration and IT management; with
virtualization being the central theme of his career
recently.Rick can be reached online at
([email protected]) and at our company
website https://www.veeam.com/

Cyber Defense eMagazine –June 2020 Edition 121
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