Quantum has announced new Ransomware Protection Packs to provide a simple and easy-to-implement solution for securing critical off-line data from ransomware attacks. Each pre-defined protection pack includes all the security features necessary to provide peace of mind against ransomware threats.
Leveraging Quantum’s unique Active Vault feature, combined with military grade encryption and Write Once Read Many (WORM) technology, Ransomware Protection Packs create a highly-secure offline backup copy of data, and highlight Quantum’s commitment to innovation in the service of preserving and protecting valuable customer data.
Tape has proven to be an effective line of defense against ransomware and is shown to be resilient against modern cyber attacks. While most companies back up data to disk on a regular basis, when ransomware viruses target backup systems, those viruses can lay dormant and undetected on the network until eventually triggering an infection throughout the entire backup environment. The ransomware can then infect data on disk – including replicated copies, even in the cloud.
Storing and protecting data off-line has significant benefits. When disk has been compromised, storing critical data on an on-premise off-line vaulted partition in the library reduces the complexity of recovering a production environment from the cloud, eliminating egress charges. Off-line storage is the most cost-effective method for long-term data archival, factoring in today’s tape capacities.
While Quantum’s Ransomware Protection Packs are secure, the active vault software layer provides intelligence. Intelligent software protection upgrades are also available for existing library customers.
The Active Vault feature, only available in Quantum’s Scalar tape libraries, builds on tape’s inherently secure offline nature by creating a totally ‘air-gapped’ vault within the library. Administrators can set a policy to move tapes from the backup application-connected partition to an Active Vault partition, a logical area within the library that has no network connectivity, and no network-connected devices. No other tape library today offers in-library vaulting. This feature in Scalar libraries enables customers to retain an ultra-secure and totally offline copy of data, eliminating administrative tape handling.
Quantum’s Ransomware Protection packs come in three capacity points ranging from a small up to 200TB to up to 2PB in large configurations. Software licenses and services are included, and the Protection Packs are priced to be more cost-competitive than custom solutions.
Christophe Bertrand, Senior Analyst, ESG, said: “Ransomware is a logical data disaster, and good disaster recovery practices and schemes should help you get back on your feet quickly with minimal data loss. Quantum’s method of air-gapping critical data and remediating ransomware events should make it easier for customers to create a simple yet cost-effective method of retaining an off-line copy of their critical data.”
Tom O’Farrell, Groton Utilities System Administrator, added: “We have seen the damage and costs that recent ransomware attacks have created, and we know the best protection is having a kind of ‘air gap’—keeping a copy of critical data on tape that is isolated from the vulnerable spinning disk.”
