DJ Schleen, a former distinguished security architect at Yahoo, and Heath Renfrow, co-founder of Phoenix 24 specializing in ransomware recovery, bring valuable insights on protecting backups. They discuss the rising threats of ransomware and the need for proactive backup strategies. The duo emphasizes the importance of rigorous testing and collaboration in improving data resilience. They also delve into real-world case studies, highlighting common pitfalls organizations face and the necessity for robust recovery solutions to combat cyber threats effectively.
Organizations must cultivate a culture of cyber resilience by rigorously testing and validating backup systems to ensure effectiveness during attacks.
Implementing robust backup strategies, like the 3-2-1 rule, is essential to protect critical data against ransomware threats and ensure quick recovery.
Deep dives
The Shift Towards Cyber Resilience
The discussion emphasizes the increasing need for organizations to adopt a culture of cyber resilience, particularly regarding backup systems. Resilience involves being prepared for inevitable cyber attacks and ensuring prompt recovery to maintain business continuity. However, backups are often treated as an afterthought in cybersecurity programs, leading to situations where organizations assume their backups will be effective when they are needed most. This false sense of security can result in significant data loss and prolonged recovery times during actual incidents.
Common Failures in Backup Systems
Several issues contribute to the failure of backup systems, including assumptions about cloud storage and a lack of understanding of data resilience. Many organizations mistakenly believe that their data is automatically secure in cloud environments, neglecting to consider potential data corruption or access issues. Furthermore, cyber attackers frequently target backup systems directly, which underscores the importance of securing these critical resources. The need for regular testing and validation of backups is essential to ensure they can be relied upon during an emergency.
Implementing Effective Backup Strategies
To combat the risks associated with ransomware and other cyber threats, experts recommend adopting robust backup strategies, such as the 3-2-1 rule, which suggests maintaining three copies of data on two different media types, with one copy stored off-site. This strategy should also include maintaining immutable backups that are segmented from production environments to provide added security against attackers. Regular testing and validation of backup and recovery processes are critical for ensuring that organizations can efficiently restore operations following an attack. Emphasizing the human element and creative scenario planning can help organizations identify gaps in their backup strategies.
The Importance of Testing and Recovery Planning
It's highlighted that merely having backup systems is insufficient; organizations must also rigorously test these systems to verify their functionality and speed of recovery. Many organizations only test a small subset of their systems, which can dangerously underestimate their recovery times during real ransomware incidents. Establishing a thorough testing plan that evaluates not only backup integrity but also the entire recovery process is crucial for understanding potential business interruption costs. This comprehensive approach enables organizations to communicate realistic recovery expectations to management and facilitate informed decision-making regarding cybersecurity investments.
All links and images for this episode can be found on CISO Series.
Check out this post for the discussion that is the basis of our conversation on this week’s episode co-hosted by me, David Spark (@dspark), the producer of CISO Series, and DJ Schleen, former distinguished security architect, Yahoo. Joining us is our sponsored guest Heath Renfrow, co-founder, Fenix24.
In this episode:
Get creative
Shift the focus of backups
Failing the test
Moving beyond false hope
Thanks to our podcast sponsor, Fenix24
You’ve invested in cybersecurity, but can your business recover when it counts? The Securitas Summa program from the Conversant Group combines resistance, managed protection, and rapid recovery to minimize downtime and restore operations faster than anyone else. Resilience isn’t optional. Click to see how it works.
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