The Need for Immutable Backups: Safeguarding Data in an Unpredictable World.

Here at Aspire, we believe that in today’s digital age, data is the lifeblood of an organisation, and ensuring that you have a robust data resilience strategy in place has become more critical than ever. One of the key strategies in achieving this is through the implementation of immutable backups.

Immutable backups cannot be changed or deleted, providing an added layer of protection against malicious attacks, human error, and unforeseen disasters. In this blog post, we will explore what immutable backups are, why they are necessary, and how they play a pivotal role in your data resilience strategy.

What Are Immutable Backups?

Immutable backups are backups that cannot be changed or deleted for a defined period or permanently once written. These are standard backup files with either an object lock or immutability flag set.

Even if these backups were hosted within an organisation’s infrastructure that suffered a ransomware attack the backup files would be safe and secure, providing the organisation with the ability to restore production workloads quickly, reducing downtime and monetary loss.

Below are some scenarios where your organisation would benefit from having immutable backups as part of your data resiliency strategy.

Ransomware

Ransomware attacks have become increasingly sophisticated and prevalent, targeting organisations of all sizes. These malicious programs encrypt data, making it inaccessible until a ransom is paid.

However, paying the ransom doesn’t guarantee successful decryption and recovery of your files. Threat actors are now actively searching for backup files to encrypt them, leaving organisations without a valid recovery choice. Immutable backups are one layer of defence in protecting against ransomware.

Insider Attacks

Internal security threats from employees or contractors with malicious intent can be just as damaging as external threats. Immutable backups serve as one layer of defence against this threat, as during the immutability period the backups cannot be changed or deleted, coupled with processes such as 4eyes authorisation mean your backup data is held to the highest and most secure standards.

Legal & Compliance

Various industries have stringent regulatory requirements for data retention and protection. Immutable backups help organisations meet these compliance standards by ensuring that historical data stays unchanged and accessible for auditing purposes.

This is particularly crucial in sectors such as finance, healthcare, and legal services, where data integrity is a legal and ethical imperative.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the need for immutable backups is as critical as ever in today’s data-driven world. As cyber threats continue to evolve and the risk of data loss from various sources persists, organisations must adopt a comprehensive data resiliency strategy incorporating a defence-in-depth approach that includes Immutable Backups as one of the layers.

By aligning with a trusted partner like Aspire, organisations can ensure they have a robust data resilience strategy in place supported by experts providing 24×7 assistance in your time of need.

You can find real-world examples of how data resilience strategies can help an organisation overcome a critical incident, by watching this on-demand webinar.

If you would like further information or would like to discuss your data resiliency strategy and how Aspire can assist, please contact us at the below.