Quantum Scalar Ransom Block Solution That Creates Physical Block Between Tapes and Robotic System

Quantum Corporation announced its innovations to protect vs. ransomware and other forms of cyberattacks.

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Scalar Ransom Block is an industry-first feature of the company‘s Scalar tape systems that eliminates the risk of data being accessed or compromised over the network. This patent-pending feature creates a hardware ‘block’ between data stored on tapes and every network-connected device including the robotic tape system, as shown in this short video.

Ransom Block can be initiated remotely, does not require any person to handle tapes, ensures data cannot be accessed over the network even if the tape library is hacked, and preserves the ability to audit the tape library so customers know their data is safe and secure.

“The threat of ransomware and other forms of cyber-attacks are one of the chief concerns of our customers,” says Jamie Lerner, chairman and. “Tape storage systems are a critical part of building cyber-resilient infrastructures, both for large archives and as part of a comprehensive data protection strategy. However, even data stored on tapes can be compromised if the tape library itself is hacked, which is why we designed these new features in partnership with a large cloud provider. Quantum Scalar Ransom Block is an industry-first solution that ensures data is protected and secure with a click of a button and provides the ultimate layer of protection for data stored on tape.“

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Ensure data on tape is safe from attack
Cyber threats are unrelenting, and data is being encrypted, stolen, and leaked on the dark web. According to a recent study by analyst firm Enterprise Strategy Group of more than 300 IT and line of business executives, 2 out of 5 respondents reported that their organizations had experienced ransomware attacks, and more than 80% had paid ransoms to retrieve their data. ⁽¹⁾ When ransomware breaches a network successfully, the monetary damage can be substantial, as are the risks from downtime of critical systems, lost revenue and damaged reputation.

Tape systems are a critical part of a comprehensive strategy to ensure data is protected and recoverable in the event of a ransomware attack. Tape systems are inherently more secure than HDD or SSD storage systems because the data stored on tape is not connected to the network. However, because the tape library itself is a network connected device, there is still some risk of a remote hack in the unlikely event the tape library itself is hacked. To address this risk in a simple, automated way, the company designed the Scalar Ransom Block feature.

How Ransom Block Works
Tapes stored in the library sit in a magazine. The patent-pending design partially ejects the magazine so the tapes cannot be selected by the robot until an operator physically re-inserts the magazine. Because the magazine is only partially ejected, the barcode scanner on the robot can still scan the tape barcodes, so that system administrators can perform periodic audits of the tape system to ensure tapes are still present.

The tapes are inaccessible until an operator, who must have physical access to the tape library, re-inserts the magazine. Tape systems can be stored in secure data centers that require badged access.

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In addition, the company has introduced ‘Logical Tape Blocking’, which enables administrators to use software commands to prevent tapes from being loaded into a drive while the magazine is being filled with tapes, before it is ejected. Although still software-based and not a physical blocking mechanism, this new capability further reduces the risk window until Ransom Block is initiated.

Innovations are part of security framework
Ransom Block and Logical Tape Blocking are the latest innovations that are part of a security framework that make Scalar tape systems to be a secure tape storage systems

Many features unique to Scalar Tape Systems2, including:

• Scalar Ransom Block and Logical Tape Blocking to ensure data stored on tape is secure, even in the event of a remote hack.

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• Scalar Active Vault enables tapes to be moved into a secure, isolated in-library vault partition that has no network connectivity and is not visible to any application or network.

• Scalar media security alerts notify the administrator when media is removed – either expectedly or unexpectedly – from the library.

• Multi-factor authentication can be enabled for administrator and user logins, providing additional security for access control.

These features are part of over 25 features and capabilities that form the Scalar Security Framework, a security framework that controls system access, provides system monitoring and event detection, data security and encryption, and features for cyber protection and data integrity.

Availability and pricing

• Ransom Block and Logical Tape Blocking are expected to be available on Scalar i6 and Scalar i3 tape libraries in December 2021.

• The remaining features listed as part of the Scalar Security Framework are available.

• Certain features are sold separately, and not all features are available on all models.

⁽¹⁾ Validating Data Challenges, Enterprise Strategy Group, September 2021
⁽²⁾ Not all features are available on all Scalar tape library models.