Utilizing Backups as Effective Ransomware Protection

Ransomware attacks have been increasing at an alarming rate, with increasingly devastating results.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security has identified ransomware as one of the fastest growing threats to businesses in the nation, with the White House recently warning businesses of all sizes to actively prepare for ransomware attacks as a security threat. Ransomware hits SMB especially hard, with threat actors taking advantage of SMB’s smaller IT budgets. According to a study from Beazley Breach Response Services, 71% of all ransomware attacks in 2018 targeted small businesses with an average ransom demand of $116,000.

Ransomware is constantly evolving, and even the latest anti-malware software may not be able to pick up on ransomware signatures, not to mention the various methods a network can be breached. Because of this, the only real effective ransomware protection is to initiate a robust backup strategy that includes an on-site backup location so you can quickly recover compromised data.

With so much of your data – and your money – at stake, backups should be elevated from a passive data loss protection method to an active component of your cybersecurity strategy. While Buffalo recommends the established 3-2-1 backup method (keep 3 copies of your data, with 2 copies onsite and 1 copy offsite) there are other backup methods that may suit you and your business. Regardless, having a secure, isolated backup location should be the key in your ransomware protection strategy.

The Buffalo TeraStation NAS devices offer the flexibility as an onsite data backup solution that supports on-premises backups, offsite replication, and cloud integration for both backing up to and from the cloud to help you combat ransomware. With the business-class solution with lots of value we let you manage your data with peace of mind.

TeraStation NAS family

Importance of onsite backups
While cloud storage is ubiquitous, its inherent security risks are well-known. The most vulnerable part of cloud services is the APIs, which is the set of interfaces organizations use to access and manage their assets and users. Because these APIs are accessible over the Internet, they are exposed to a wide variety of cyberthreats. Another aspect are the applications run in the cloud environment, which can also be compromised. This is an especially easy attack surface to miss for many businesses, as even a rigorous regimen of firewalls, port monitoring, and antiviruses will do next to nothing if the attack originates from within your development environment.

Worse yet, attackers can use the compromised data to go after both a business and its customers in what is referred to as a supply chain attack, leading to potentially large-scale data and business loss. Many industries have strict regulations regarding sensitive data storage and cloud storage doesn’t always meet compliance. This is why it is imperative to have a flexible physical onsite backup location, preferably air gapped, so your backups remain truly safe from cyberthreats.

Data protection features of NAS
Ransomware protection can be difficult to mount. The company’s NAS are secure network storage products, and come with data protection features such as RAID, automated backups, snapshot, hybrid cloud, replication, and failover to protect your and your clients’ data from ransomware and other threats.

Closed system
One of the strongest security features of the firm’s NAS is that our devices run on closed systems, with not even the system administrator having root rights. Many competitors’ devices allow third party apps to be installed via an app store, which is a possible vector for malware such as ransomware and spyware. The TeraStation only allows connections to available network services, and you have the option to further control which connections to utilize.

Snapshots
A snapshot is a virtual copy of the data currently stored on the TeraStation at a given point in time, and can be an effective weapon in your ransomware protection arsenal. Unlike a full backup, they take up merely a fraction of space of the full data set and can be created quickly without impacting your operations. Once a snapshot has been created, you can use it to simply revert to the data state at the time the snapshot was taken. This is especially convenient if a ransomware attack only locks a handful of infected files – instead of performing a full restore, you can just overwrite the encrypted files with the latest version that had not been infected and be on your way.

Automatic backup/replication
Automatic backups or replication using TeraStation NAS can be an effortless yet effective component of your backup strategy. Backups should always be created with recovery in mind – after all, what good is having backups if you can’t access them quickly in a pinch? You can easily schedule backups automatically into a secure location to not affect your daily operations, and focus on your tasks instead of having to worry about losing your data. And should you need them, you can quickly access backed up files and restore them without jumping through hoops.

Hybrid cloud
TeraStations can integrate cloud services, allowing you create a hybrid cloud structure. A hybrid cloud is an environment that merges a third-party public cloud with your company’s on-premises private cloud over a WAN into a single data infrastructure for your organization’s applications, operations, and storage. By keeping less critical data on a cloud while storing your more important business onsite, you can enjoy a flexible storage solution that blends the cost savings of cloud services while still maintaining the security of keeping sensitive business data in a physical location. For this reason, a hybrid cloud is considered a “best of both worlds” approach for modern business data storage.