Ransomware is a type of malware that blocks access to a computer or files on the computer until a ransom is paid to the hacker. It can have a devastating effect on individuals, businesses, and even government agencies. Every day, companies and individuals are affected by ransomware attacks.
Some examples:
Kaseya – In July 2021, Kaseya’s IT management software was hit by ransomware, affecting hundreds of businesses worldwide. The attack was attributed to the REvil ransomware group and required a ransom of $70 million.
Colonial Pipeline – In May 2021, the Colonial Pipeline, a major fuel pipeline in the United States, was hit by the DarkSide ransomware group. This compromised the fuel supply in the southeastern United States and required the company to pay a $4.4 million ransom to regain access to their systems.
JBS – In June 2021, Brazilian meat processor JBS was hit by ransomware. The REvil ransomware group did the attack, leading to production stoppages and delays. The company eventually paid an $11 million ransom to restore its systems.
Scripps Health – In May 2021, U.S. healthcare company Scripps Health was hit by ransomware. This temporarily disrupted patient care and electronic health records. The company did not pay a ransom and instead chose to use its backup systems to restore its systems.
CNA Financial – In March 2021, the insurance company CNA Financial was hit by ransomware. This restricted access to the company’s internal network and temporarily interrupted their services. The company paid a ransom of $40 million to restore its systems.
These are just a few examples of recent ransomware attacks. It shows how important it is to take proactive measures to protect yourself from ransomware and protect your important data.
There are several steps you can take to protect yourself from ransomware:
Make regular backups of all your important files and data, so you always have a copy in case of an attack. Make sure your backup data is secure! Consider storing backups in an external location or in the Cloud. Make sure access to this data is safe, and access is regulated. An excellent example of secure Cloud storage in Azure, for example, is using private endpoints instead of storage accounts (accessible via the public Internet).
BDRsuite provides powerful Cloud replication capabilities, which companies can use to replicate their data to an off-site location in the Cloud. This provides additional protection against data loss due to disasters such as fire, flood, or theft.
This replication feature allows businesses to automatically replicate their backups to an off-site location in the Cloud, such as Amazon S3 or Microsoft Azure. This ensures that business-critical data is always available, even in a severe local failure.
Advanced compression and deduplication techniques can also minimize bandwidth and storage costs when replicating data to the Cloud. This means businesses can efficiently replicate their data without worrying about high costs. In addition, BDRsuite offers advanced security features such as 256-bit AES encryption to ensure your data is safe even when stored in the Cloud.
It is vital to keep the software up-to-date to ensure the backup software continues working optimally and remains protected from new threats. BDRsuite makes this easy by providing automatic updates that regularly include new features and security patches.
This automatic update feature automatically updates the software as soon as new updates are available. These updates often include bug fixes, performance improvements, and new features that can extend the software’s functionality.
In addition, using BDRsuite, it is also possible to perform manual updates. This is useful for companies that want to maintain strict control over updating their software and manage the process manually. Users can open the Management Console and navigate to the “Updates” section to perform manual updates. Here they can check for new updates and download and install them.
Role-based access is a security feature that gives users specific access rights based on their organizational role. This means that users can only access the data and functions relevant to their tasks, reducing the risk of unauthorized access to sensitive information.
BDRsuite provides role-based access to ensure only authorized users can access the software’s backup and restore functions. This means administrators can define specific roles and assign access rights to users based on their roles and responsibilities. These include roles such as administrator, operator, backup operator, and guest. These roles have different access rights to the software and its backup and recovery functions. For example, an administrator has full access to all software functions, while a backup operator only has access to the backup functions.
In addition, the ability to define custom roles based on an organization’s specific needs is very useful. This means administrators can fine-tune users’ access rights to the software according to their duties and responsibilities.
Nevertheless, should you be hit by a ransomware attack, getting back up and running as soon as possible is crucial.
BDRsuite can also help restore your data quickly after a ransomware attack. Instant Virtualization offers a feature that allows you to create a virtual machine from your backup data and immediately deploy it to continue your business operations. This means you can get back to work quickly without worrying about paying ransom to hackers. (More on this in a later blog post)
In short, taking the necessary steps to protect yourself from ransomware is essential. Using a reliable backup and disaster recovery solution such as BDRsuite can help you protect your data and recover quickly in the event of an attack.
More information about BDRSuite here.