Data Loss Prevention Against AI: How Immutable Backups Safeguard Against Sophisticated Cyberattacks

The use of artificial intelligence is exploding, with Grand View Research projecting the global AI market will expand at an impressive 37.3% CAGR between 2023 and 2030. 

While that creates incredible opportunities for improved productivity and innovation, we’ve all heard about the dark side of AI. A recent CNBC article was headlined, “The generative AI battle between companies and hackers is starting.”

Actually, the battle is already well underway.  That makes data loss prevention more important than ever. Check Point Research released its 2023 Mid-Year Security Report, noting that “the misuse of AI has escalated, as attackers use generative AI tools for phishing emails, keystroke monitoring malware, and basic ransomware code.” The report also revealed an 8 percent “surge” in global weekly cyberattacks during Q2, the most significant increase in two years.

It’s important to note that, in addition to all these threats to your primary data, your backups are also a primary target for ransomware attacks. Hackers know that if they can encrypt your backups, they can prevent your organization from recovering. And that means you’re much more likely to pay the ransom.  

Hackers will find new attack methods as AI—and their skills in using it—become increasingly sophisticated. Your preventive cybersecurity solutions may not be enough to stop these evolving attacks. This means you must protect against ransomware and data loss by ensuring data disaster recovery—whether an attack is AI-driven or just a phishing ploy by a solo hacker. 

New Threats Demand Immutability

You’re familiar with the 3-2-1 backup strategy, which has been around since 2009. While that was a great start, ensuring data resilience in your organization today requires implementing modern data protection best practices, including the 3-2-1-1 backup strategy. That added “1” in the 3-2-1-1 strategy represents immutability.

When your backups are placed in immutable storage, they are saved in a format that unauthorized users can’t change or delete. That includes backups stored in the cloud using Amazon S3 Object Lock or pairing Arcserve Unified Data Protection (UDP) with Arcserve OneXafe, our immutable network-attached storage appliance. 

Employ Unified Cloud Data Protection Against AI 

Arcserve UDP, a single platform that simplifies cloud data protection, starts with prevention. The software safeguards your data with Sophos Intercept X Advanced cybersecurity. Sophos Intercept X employs deep learning that predicts and prevents attacks and includes CryptoGuard to prevent unauthorized file encryption, among other unique capabilities. But even if hackers—or a disgruntled employee—find a way around these leading-edge protections, Arcserve UDP software ensures the immutability of your data backups when combined with cloud storage that employs Object Lock or similar means. 

Consider Immutable Backup Appliances 

Arcserve OneXafe is perfect for local and remote backups, with a file system based on an immutable object store. Every object is written only once and never modified. Any modification made to the file system always creates a new object. OneXafe’s continuous data protection (CDP) takes low-overhead snapshots every 90 seconds that are a view of your file system at the instant it is taken. The snapshots inherit this immutability because the underlying objects are immutable. Snapshots also let you go back to specific points in time and recover entire file systems in minutes.

OneXafe's scale-out architecture gives you a highly scalable, disk-based backup target for your virtualized and physical server environments. So you can count on easy scalability for your ever-growing backup data. You can also count on the convenience of near-zero configuration of storage management tasks. And OneXafe’s powerful storage reduction technologies—including inline and variable-length deduplication and compression—ensure a cost-effective storage-capacity footprint. 

Get Help from Data Protection Experts

Arcserve technology partners work with organizations of every size and stripe. They can help you understand your organization’s unique requirements and guide you in implementing data protections—including immutable storage—that ensure your data can always be recovered.

Find an Arcserve technology partner.

To learn more about Arcserve UDP and Arcserve OneXafe, request a demo.