How to Protect Backups from Ransomware Attacks

Ransomware has become one of the greatest threats to data security. Between the rise of attack frequency and the increasing sophistication of malicious software, ransomware-specific disaster recovery solutions will be critical for businesses in 2020. Investing in reliable backups is a great place to start, but many organizations don’t realize that backups also require protection from ransomware attacks. While backups are an essential facet of any enterprise data protection process, they’re not immune to hacker infiltration. By incorporating backup security into an overall data protection plan, businesses can achieve a more cohesive disaster recovery process that ensures the best ransomware backup and recovery protection possible.Know the Backup Security RisksBusiness detections of ransomware have risen a staggering 365 percent between 2018 and 2019. Unfortunately, even with the industry’s best endpoint data protection software, organizations remain at risk. In 2018, according to Sophos, 77 percent of organizations hit by ransomware were running up-to-date endpoint security when attacked. Having backup and data recovery processes is essential to boosting ransomware protection. However, advanced ransomware strains are designed to encrypt backups. Prevention is the first line of defense against cybercrime, and following ransomware trends can help businesses stay ahead of potential attacks.Keep Tabs on Ransomware TacticsRansomware technology and methodology are continually advancing. Just when the industry seems to have a handle on the most malicious tactics, hackers find new ways to target essential data. Myriad ways exist for ransomware to penetrate data infrastructure, including emails with malicious files or links, security weaknesses in software, and remote desktop protocol vulnerabilities. Ransomware spreads laterally, to other computers on the network and mapped drives. It can potentially spread to backups on connected devices that are write-accessible, such as a NAS or a USB drive. As such, adopting a multilayered data security approach is ideal.Store Backups Locally and OffsiteOnsite backups are important to have for their speed, efficiency, and accessibility when needed for a recovery. But the best data protection strategy incorporates a combination of both local and offsite backups. Offsite backups can be isolated from the company network. Cloud-based backup is an excellent offsite option. As a best practice, follow the 3-2-2 backup rule. For the best ransomware protection, a business should always keep three copies of its data stored on at least two different mediums, and at least one offsite version but preferably two.  Replicate backups to the cloud where ransomware can’t reach them. Contact us to learn more.