24-09-03, 5:05 p.m.

Protect your business from ransomware attacks with essential backup and recovery strategies designed to minimize downtime and financial loss. Stay resilient against cyber threats with a comprehensive recovery plan.

In today’s digital landscape, ransomware is one of the most pervasive and damaging cyber threats facing organizations. A recent survey by Sophos revealed that 59% of organizations were hit by a ransomware attack in 2023. Even more alarming is that 56% of those affected paid the ransom, with an average payment of $4 million. These staggering numbers highlight the importance of having a robust and reliable backup process to recover from such attacks.

At Upside Business Technologies, we understand that ransomware doesn’t just threaten your data; it jeopardizes your entire business operation. With the increasing frequency of attacks and the severe financial and operational impacts, having a well-thought-out recovery strategy is not just a best practice—it’s a necessity. Here are eight crucial steps to ensure your business can successfully restore from backup after a ransomware attack.

1. Keep Backups Isolated

Ransomware attackers often target backups to prevent recovery. The Sophos survey indicated that in 94% of cases, attackers attempted to compromise backups, with 57% of these attempts being successful. By keeping backups isolated—either offline or in secure, segmented environments—you significantly reduce the risk of compromise. Companies that had secure backups paid less in ransom and faced lower recovery costs.

2. Use Write-Once Storage Techniques

To further safeguard your backups, consider using write-once-read-many (WORM) storage. This approach ensures that once data is written, it cannot be altered or deleted, providing an immutable layer of protection. Although this may increase storage costs, it’s a small price to pay compared to the potential financial loss from a successful ransomware attack.

3. Maintain Multiple Types of Backups

Diversifying your backup strategy by using a mix of full backups and incremental backups is essential. This approach ensures that even if some backups are compromised, others remain viable. Moreover, it allows for quicker recovery times, minimizing operational downtime.

4. Protect the Backup Catalog

Your backup catalog, which contains the metadata for all your backups, is as critical as the backups themselves. Sophisticated ransomware attacks often target these catalogs, rendering the backups useless. Implementing air-gapped protection for your backup catalog ensures that you can restore your data even if an attack compromises your primary systems.

5. Back Up Everything

In the event of an attack, every piece of your infrastructure is vulnerable. It’s crucial to back up not just your data but also your applications, configurations, and any other components essential to your business processes. Comprehensive backups ensure that you can fully restore operations without relying on potentially compromised systems.

6. Back Up Entire Business Processes

Ransomware impacts more than just data—it can cripple entire business processes. To ensure a smooth recovery, you need to back up all elements of your business processes, including software, configurations, network settings, and security tools. Modern cloud solutions can replicate your entire infrastructure, allowing for a quicker, more efficient recovery.

7. Use Hot Disaster Recovery Sites and Automation

Speed is of the essence in ransomware recovery. Hot disaster recovery sites, which can be activated almost instantly, paired with automated recovery processes, can significantly reduce downtime. While initial setup costs might be high, the ability to restore critical functions within minutes or hours rather than days or weeks is invaluable.

8. Test Your Backups Regularly

Regularly testing your backups and recovery procedures is vital. Many organizations fail to do this, leaving them vulnerable to unforeseen issues during an actual recovery. By routinely testing your backups, you can ensure that your recovery plan works as expected, minimizing surprises during a crisis.

Why Upside Business Technologies?

Ransomware is not just a technical issue; it’s a business risk that can have devastating consequences. At Upside Business Technologies, we specialize in helping organizations protect their data, secure their backups, and develop comprehensive recovery strategies. With our expertise, we can help you navigate the complexities of ransomware recovery, ensuring that your business remains resilient in the face of cyber threats.

Don’t wait until it’s too late. Contact us today to learn how we can help you protect your business from ransomware and other cyber threats.