“Offline, Immutable & Air-Gapped”: Ransomware Defense, State Of The Art

For a ransomware attack to be successful, two things are necessary. The attacker must penetrate a target, and that target must lack an adequate backup and recovery system. Thwarting ransomware attacks on point one, while in theory possible (e.g., by way of a well-trained and diligent work force) has in practice proved to be extremely difficult. The list of victims ranges from virtual mom-and-pops to city governments and multi-billion dollar corporations. That, according to this post from the UK-based Block and Files website, is why an effective defense vis a vis point two, backup and disaster recovery, is essential. With that as the premise the editors polled representatives from more than a dozen suppliers of these systems to get their take on what makes a backup and disaster recovery system effective, and for them to make the case for their own product.