Cybersecurity strategies for protecting data against ransomware and other threats

Data volumes continue to expand at an exponential rate, with no sign of slowing down. For instance, IDC predicts that the amount of commercial data in storage will grow to 12.8 ZB by 2026. To watch 12.8 ZB worth of movies in 780p HD, you’d need to plant yourself in front of the TV for more than 154 million years.

Protecting these ever-increasing volumes of data is a high priority, and while there are many different types of cybersecurity threats to enterprise data, ransomware dominates the field. Ransomware accounted for nearly a quarter (24%) of data breach incidents in the 2023 Verizon Data Breach Investigations Report, and Sophos’ State of Ransomware 2023 found that two-thirds of surveyed companies had experienced a ransomware attack.

Claus Torp Jensen, formerly CTO and Head of Architecture at CVS Health and Aetna, agreed that ransomware is a top concern. “At the top of the cybersecurity risk chart is ransomware attacks. Cybersecurity strategies need to evolve from data protection to a more holistic business continuity approach. … In today’s environment, it often isn’t possible to establish 100% protection, but we can ensure that if and when something happens, we have a clear path and approach to quick recovery.”

Experts torn on best security approach

There’s broad agreement that, while critical, modern cybersecurity strategies can’t fully protect data from ransomware and other kinds of attacks. However, there is some debate about the best approach to protecting that data.

Zero trust has taken hold in a big way over the past five years, and for good reason, according to Rich Heimann, chief artificial intelligence officer at Tier4.ai. “Zero trust operates on the principle of ‘never trust, always verify,’” Heimann says. “It’s about assuming the worst and verifying it. This is a stark contrast to other security paradigms like Defense in Depth, which are more speculative. The essence of zero trust is about validation. So, while my answer is zero trust, [it] is not just the concept that I advocate but a mindset. I think you must validate your assumptions, your technology, your policies, your people, and your processes.”

In a similar vein, Rohit Ghai, CEO of RSA, emphasizes the need to protect and secure identities. “Identity has always been the most successfully attacked target in an organization’s infrastructure,” Ghai notes. “And while organizations have made great strides in implementing multi-factor authentication, recent data breaches have shown that threat actors are adapting to new cybersecurity capabilities and finding ways to bypass MFA. Organizations will only be as safe as their identities are secured.”

The case for a multifaceted approach

But there’s broad consensus that neither zero trust nor identity controls can fully protect an organization’s data. As a result, Gene De Libero, principal at Digital Mindshare LLC, recommends incorporating zero trust alongside AI and other technologies. “First, leveraging AI-driven security enables advanced predictive threat detection and automated responses, utilizing artificial intelligence to stay ahead of cyberthreats,” De Libero says. “Second, implementing a zero trust architecture mandates verification for every access request, drastically minimizing the attack surface. Finally, embracing a cybersecurity mesh architecture allows various cybersecurity solutions to work together seamlessly, enhancing the overall defense mechanism. Together, these strategies provide the enterprise with a comprehensive defense framework, supporting the strategic priorities of technology and marketing executives in protecting their organization’s data.”Brian Thomas, CIO at DivergentCIO, takes that approach one step farther, arguing for “an increasingly sophisticated and dynamic cybersecurity landscape. This requires a multifaceted approach that combines advanced technologies and proactive strategies. Which includes zero trust architecture, advanced threat detection, encryption, security audits, technology risk assessments and cybersecurity awareness training, and of course regular disaster recovery/business continuity planning.”

Santiago Martin-Romani, who serves as vice president of technology services at a variety of companies, echoed Thomas and De Libero about the importance of a multifaceted cybersecurity strategy. “In 2024 and beyond,” Martin-Romani says, “a layered cybersecurity approach is vital. Implementing multi-factor authentication (MFA) is projected to reduce account compromise attempts by 90% according to a Microsoft report. Zero-trust network access (ZTNA) can further strengthen access control. Regular security audits, combined with employee training on cyber hygiene, are crucial for user awareness. And leveraging data encryption technologies with a market size expected to reach $180 billion by 2025.”

Finally, Will Lassalle, CIO at JLS Technology USA, points to the importance of preparing not just cyber defenses to prevent a successful attack, but also implementing a robust plan for mitigating and recovering from the damage of the inevitable successful breach. “Rather than focusing solely on prevention,” Lassalle says, “organizations should adopt a resilience mindset. This involves preparing for inevitable breaches and recognizing that every system has vulnerabilities. Resilience extends beyond defense to include robust strategies for post-breach scenarios. Cyber resilience encompasses two critical aspects:

• Continuous Defense: Strengthening operations against constant attacks to ensure business continuity under “normal” cyber warfare conditions.
• Post-Breach Strategy: Developing adaptive plans that go beyond recovery, acknowledging the dynamic digital battlefield where threats evolve.”

Enter LTO: A time-tested last line of defense

Backup and recovery are a critical part of that post-breach strategy, often called the last line of defense. But IT can find it difficult to scale these systems efficiently to protect rapidly expanding data volumes without compromising performance and reliability. Traditional systems may run into significant bottlenecks and limitations.

LTO (Linear Tape-Open) is a well-established magnetic tape data storage technology first launched in 2000 that continues to have relevant applications in long-term archive, data backup, high-capacity data transfer, and offline storage, especially with the updates that have been made to it over the past decade. These include features such as write-once, read-many (WORM), hardware-based encryption, partitioning enabling Linear Tape File System (LTFS), multiple digital encoding methods, and lossless data compression techniques. LTO-9 can store 18TB of uncompressed data (45TB 2.5:1 compressed) on a single cartridge with up to a 400 MBPS (1000 MBPS 2.5:1 compressed) data transfer rate.

The best news? An LTO-9 cartridge costs only about $100.

LTO technology provides a scalable, affordable, high-density means of gaining offline storage for data that can be rapidly recovered. It’s not a full solution to the broader ransomware and data security challenges, but it can play a critical and indispensable role in a multifaceted defense.

For an even deeper dive into ransomware and how LTO technology can provide a critical defense, read Ultrium’s white paper: Exploring the Ransomware Epidemic