Counter ransomware attacks with HPE data protection solutions

[StorageExperts]

Worried that your business will be the next target of a ransomware attack? Wondering if your data backups are safe from the attack and can be restored? Counter ransomware attacks with HPE StoreOnce Catalyst and quickly recover your data with HPE Recovery Manager Central.

Ransomware dominates the world of IT security and is vastly different from today’s traditional viruses and malware. Managed by well-funded criminal organizations with squads of full-time developers, ransomware has become a lucrative business for many.

More attacks with higher monetary demands have spread to more companies, and the level of sophistication in distribution methods and attack vectors has expanded. The following statistics heighten the need for a solution that counters ransomware attacks: 

• A company is hit by ransomware every 40 seconds.¹
• 63% of organizations experienced an attempted ransomware attack in 2017, with 22% reporting these incidents occurred on a weekly basis.²
• At least 15% of businesses in the top 10 industry sectors have been attacked.¹
• 71% of companies targeted by ransomware attacks have been infected.¹
• Despite paying the ransom, one in five businesses never get back their files.¹

Data restore is often not possible because ransomware can access backups. Financial downfall (downtime of mission-critical applications), IT setbacks because of recurring threats, and damaged company brand for victims of high-profile attacks are severe business consequences.

Why can’t my data protection solution come to my rescue?

One part of the problem is your data backups. Data backup stores that are not isolated from the operating system are equally vulnerable to ransomware attacks. Lack of encryption invites malicious access to these stores. Another part of the problem is your data restores. When restoring data from backups, fast recovery is critical in order to get your business up and running again. Even if you have data backups that are isolated from the operating system and you can recover fast, any solution that blocks ransomware attacks must coexist with your existing data protection technologies such as backup and recovery software, backup appliances, and so on.

Data protection solutions that block ransomware attacks include secure and unexposed data backup stores that are not visible to the operating system. They integrate with existing backup and recovery software and provide fast recovery to meet stringent recovery time objectives (RTOs) and recovery point objectives (RPOs). Backup and recovery speeds as well as the level of integration with native database backup and recovery tools determine how well these solutions can respond to ransomware threats.

HPE StoreOnce Catalyst saves the day

The good news is that you can protect against ransomware with HPE StoreOnce Catalyst that integrates with third-party and native database backup and recovery software. In addition, HPE StoreOnce systems integrate with HPE 3PAR primary storage snapshots and HPE Recovery Manager Central (RMC) in order to provide fast, efficient, and reliable recovery. The solution enables you to:

• Achieve secure backups—Block unauthorized access with data encryption. HPE StoreOnce Catalyst prevents ransomware from accessing or encrypting backup data stores, thereby ensuring data integrity.
• Accelerate restore speed—Speed up data restore with efficient flash-integrated online recovery. HPE RMC, offered as part of every HPE 3PAR StoreServ system, delivers a much more efficient and fast backup and recovery by using multiple block-based streams and sending only changed data blocks to HPE StoreOnce. Quick restores of data volumes enable meeting aggressive RPO and RTO goals after a ransomware attack.
• Reduce complexity—Integrate with existing native application data protection solutions and third-party backup and recovery software. The HPE data protection solutions integrate with existing native application data protection solutions (for example, Oracle Recovery Manager [RMAN] or Backint for SAP HANA) and third-party backup and recovery software. This integration enables simple management with the HPE 3PAR StoreServ Management Console.

As an added bonus, the HPE Cloud Bank Storage feature of HPE StoreOnce lets you leverage the economics, agility, and flexibility of the cloud for modernized data protection. You can natively, securely, and cost-effectively move backup data to the public, private, or hybrid cloud—providing long-term retention and reliable disaster recovery that is simple and efficient. The solution sends, stores, and retrieves only unique data for lower total cost of investment (TCO). It is also highly scalable, enabling the protection and retention of more than 100 PB³ of backup data in your cloud of choice at one-tenth of a cent per month. And it supports a broad ecosystem, cloud-enabling a wide variety of backup apps.

Achieve secure, fast, and simple protection against ransomware attacks

Secure your data from ransomware attacks with HPE StoreOnce Catalyst while ensuring fast restores when needed—all with simple management of your data protection ecosystem. You no longer have to fear ransomware attacks when you are deploying HPE data protection solutions. You can prevent unauthorized access to data on disk, deliver on RPO and RTO goals with up to 15 times faster restores than traditional data protection approaches, and deploy the solution with a single management console.

Don’t miss the upcoming BrightTalk webinar!

March 15: Are you protected against ransomware attacks?

Worried that your business will be the next target of a ransomware attack? Wondering if your data backups are safe from the attack and can be restored? You’re not alone. A company is hit by ransomware every 40 seconds and despite paying the ransom, one in five businesses never get back their files. Join us to learn the basics about ransomware and how you can counter these attacks with the right data protection solution. Register here.

Learn some more

Read: Ransomware: Ensuring Protection from a Growing Threat and Protecting Data from Ransomware with HPE StoreOnce Catalyst.

Watch:

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 Meet Around the Storage Block blogger Parissa Mohamadi, Data Protection Solution Product Manager, HPE Storage.

¹Must-Know Ransomware Statistics 2017. Barkly, June 2017.

²ESG Master Survey Results: 2018 IT Spending Intentions Survey. Enterprise Strategy Group, December 2014.

³Assuming dedupe ratio of 20:1 and the maximum logical capacity of HPE StoreOnce 6600 of 34 PB.