Data is the most important aspect of your computing systems and the ultimate reason for their existence. And, with the rise of ransomware and increased requirements for cybersecurity around cloud and multi-cloud technologies, the need for secure backup is more critical than ever.
However, legacy backup systems are no match for modern cyber threats and cannot be trusted for cyber recovery.
Stefan van de Giessen, Country Manager: SA and SADC at Exclusive Networks Africa
When discussing issues around data backup and storage, cloud data management and data security company Rubrik prefers, from a terminology perspective, to refer instead to ‘data protection’. In this regard, Rubrik – also known as the zero trust data security company – has opened up conversations around air-gapped data protection, isolated recovery and data observability, to defend against ransomware and other threats.
Exclusive Networks Africa, which is part of a global trusted cybersecurity specialist parent company working with reseller partners to increase opportunities in the ever-changing technological landscape, has partnered with Rubrik and distributes its solutions throughout sub-Saharan Africa.
Say goodbye to legacy systems
Many organisations still rely on legacy backup as their last-resort cybersecurity option. However, as outlined by Rubrik, these systems often lack critical security features and are not designed to protect against modern cyber threats.
- Legacy backups are vulnerable to cyberattacks. Organisations that use legacy backup are very likely to have open storage protocols, which can expose their data to unauthorised access and manipulation by hackers.
- Legacy backups do not provide critical insights or visibility into what data is at risk or what has been affected during a cyberattack. The task of determining data that has been lost or compromised can be overwhelming and can take weeks or even months to complete, extending costly downtime.
- Legacy backups were designed to restore individual files, virtual machines, or databases from a known point in time associated with a disaster. However, with cyber recovery, it can be incredibly challenging to determine what to restore, when the attack occurred, how far the bad actor went, and the extent of the damage they caused.
- Determining the scope of the attack and whether sensitive data was exposed is crucial for cyber recovery, especially where organisations are required to notify compliance units such as GDPR or POPIA. Legacy backups do not offer this functionality.
- Legacy backups do not offer protection against the reinfection of malware. Restoring backups that contain malware to a clean environment can trigger the attack all over again.
- Finally, legacy backup systems don’t provide organisations with the capability to simulate and test their recovery processes, which leaves them in a precarious position in the event of a further cyberattack.
Data security: the trusted approach to cyber recovery
Given this dynamic threat environment, organisations must adopt an ‘assume breach’ mindset.
Because data is the target of attackers, organisations need security at the point of data – or data security – to keep data safe and recover it faster. Rubrik’s data security is composed of three pillars, as follows:
- Data resilience: Secure data from insider threats or ransomware with air-gapped, immutable, access- controlled backups .
- Data observability: Continuously monitor data risks like sensitive data exposure and detect cyber threats such as ransomware
- Data remediation: Simulate recoveries, and surgically and rapidly recover applications, files, or objects while avoiding malware .reinfection.
The business impact of ransomware
Ransom payments can cost millions of dollars without any guarantee that paying these demands will restore the affected data. Beyond the cost of the ransom itself, attacks can also result in downtime, lost revenue, recovery costs, reputational harm, regulatory compliance requirements, loss of customer goodwill, and increased cyber insurance premiums.
Securing data is the only way an organisation can truly protect its business, especially when ransomware remains highly financially rewarding for attackers. IT and cybersecurity teams must ensure that data is available, safe, and recoverable in the event of an incident.
For more information on the benefits of partnering with Exclusive Networks Africa, please visit https://www.exclusive-networks.com/za/ or call +27 (0) 11 280 8400.