Near Real-Time Recovery: The New Standard in Cyber Resilience

Why CEOs, CFOs, and CISOs Must Adopt Modern Data Protection Strategies

Imagine this: A devastating ransomware attack strikes your organization. Your critical systems are paralyzed, data is inaccessible, and the clock is ticking. The pressure is immense; every passing minute translates to potential revenue loss, reputational damage, and operational chaos. This is a nightmare scenario that C-level executives, especially CEOs, CFOs, COOs, CIOs, and CISOs, dread. The traditional 3-2-1 backup approach, once a reliable safeguard, now seems inadequate in the face of sophisticated cyber threats. I have performed nearly 100 Incident Response and Business Continuity Tabletops in the last two years or so for both public (many part of critical infrastructure) and private sectors (financial services, health care, and technology) customers while at NETSYNC , and let me just say there is a massive, almost tsunami size need for better response and faster recovery capabilities. But there is hope, as near real-time recovery is not just a concept; it is an achievable and reasonably affordable reality that can transform your organization's resilience against ransomware and cyberattacks.

The Dire Reality of Cyberattacks

In the first half of 2024, ransomware attacks have surged, with the average extortion demand per attack now exceeding $5.2 million, up from $4.24 million in 2023, including ransom payments, recovery expenses, and lost business. New groups like RansomHub have emerged, surpassing previous activity levels. This surge by cybercriminals is targeting organizations indiscriminately, as there is so much opportunity for them, especially for businesses relying on traditional backup and restore methods, which involve creating multiple copies of data stored in different locations, as they can be painfully slow and unreliable. In an era where downtime is unacceptable, executives need solutions that ensure minimal disruption and rapid recovery.

The Power of Near Real-Time Recovery

Near real-time recovery offers a robust solution to the challenges posed by ransomware and cyberattacks. Organizations can achieve swift data recovery and resume normal operations by leveraging robust technologies from Pure Storage, Rubrik, and Cohesity. Let's explore at a high level (there is a lot more to them) how these companies' solutions can revolutionize your organization's disaster recovery strategy.

Pure Storage: Accelerated Data Recovery

Pure Storage provides a high-performance data storage solution designed for near real-time recovery. Their FlashArray and FlashBlade technologies enable organizations to restore data quickly and efficiently.

High-Level Framework and Architecture:

• FlashArray: Provides all-flash storage with rapid read/write capabilities, ensuring that critical data can be accessed and restored without delay. It leverages NVMe storage technology for exceptional performance.
• FlashBlade: Designed for unstructured data, offering massive parallelism and fast recovery times for large data sets. It supports scalable file and object storage, enabling swift access and restoration of data.

Additional Architecture Details:

Air-Gapping: Pure Storage integrates air-gapping features to isolate critical data backups from network access, preventing ransomware from compromising backup copies.

Hypothetical Use-Case:

Imagine a financial institution hit by ransomware. The institution's transactional systems are down, preventing any customer interactions, trading activities, and financial services. With Pure Storage's FlashArray, the institution's critical transactional data is swiftly restored from the latest snapshot, minimizing downtime to mere minutes. The FlashBlade simultaneously recovers vast amounts of customer data, ensuring business continuity and maintaining customer trust. The CEO and COO breathe a sigh of relief as their operational resilience plan kicks into action seamlessly, preserving their company's reputation and client base.

Rubrik: Intelligent Data Management

Rubrik 's platform combines backup, recovery, and data management into a seamless, automated solution. It leverages machine learning to detect anomalies and accelerate recovery processes.

High-Level Framework and Architecture:

• Rubrik Cloud Data Management (CDM): Unifies backup, recovery, and archival across hybrid cloud environments. It offers a policy-driven approach to automate protection and compliance.
• Radar: Utilizes machine learning to detect ransomware threats early and automate recovery, ensuring data integrity and availability.

Additional Architecture Details:

Air-Gapping: Rubrik employs logical air-gapping, creating an immutable snapshot that ransomware attacks cannot delete.

Hypothetical Use-Case:

Consider a healthcare provider targeted by a ransomware attack. Patient records and critical healthcare applications are inaccessible, endangering patient care. Rubrik's Radar detects the anomaly and isolates the infected data. Simultaneously, Rubrik CDM restores the uninfected data from a clean snapshot, allowing the healthcare provider to maintain patient care services without significant interruption. The CIO's quick response ensures patient safety and minimizes operational disruption, demonstrating the effectiveness of Rubrik's near real-time recovery in a life-or-death scenario.

Cohesity: Simplified, Rapid Recovery

Cohesity offers a comprehensive data management platform that simplifies and speeds up data recovery processes. Their solutions integrate with existing infrastructure, making adoption seamless for organizations.

High-Level Framework and Architecture:

• DataPlatform: Consolidates backup, recovery, and file services into a single, scalable solution. It provides a unified interface for managing data across on-premises and cloud environments.
• Helios: A SaaS-based management solution that provides predictive analytics and automated recovery workflows, enhancing visibility and control over data.

Additional Architecture Details:?

Air-Gapping: Cohesity integrates Kubernetes to ensure that backup data is isolated from potential threats, enhancing data security.

Hypothetical Use-Case:

Imagine a retail chain facing a ransomware attack during the holiday shopping season. The ransomware locks up their sales systems, halting all transactions at the busiest time of the year. Cohesity's Helios identifies the breach and triggers an automated recovery process using the DataPlatform. Within minutes, the retail chain's systems are back online, ensuring uninterrupted service and protecting seasonal revenue. The CFO and CISO are able to swiftly mitigate the attack's impact, safeguarding revenue and customer satisfaction during a critical business period.?

Value of Combining Data Management Solutions with XDR

Incorporating Extended Detection and Response (XDR) with advanced data management solutions can significantly enhance an organization's defense against cyber threats and recovery capabilities. XDR integrates multiple security products into a cohesive system, providing comprehensive visibility, automated detection, and streamlined response. The combination of XDR with Pure Storage, Rubrik, or Cohesity can offer a more robust and holistic approach to cybersecurity and disaster recovery.

High-Level Benefits of XDR Integration:

• Unified Threat Detection: XDR correlates data across various security layers—email, endpoints, servers, and networks—enabling faster identification of threats.
• Automated Response: XDR automates threat mitigation, reducing the time between detection and response, which is critical during an active cyberattack.
• Enhanced Visibility: Provides a single-pane-of-glass view of the entire IT environment, facilitating quicker decision-making and more effective incident management.

Hypothetical Use-Case:

Imagine a manufacturing company facing a sophisticated ransomware attack. With an XDR system in place, the threat is detected almost immediately as it propagates through the network. The XDR system isolates the affected segments while triggering Rubrik's automated data recovery processes. The manufacturing company's critical systems are restored within moments, minimizing operational impact and financial loss. The CFO notes that the integrated XDR and data management solution prevented significant downtime and safeguarded valuable intellectual property, demonstrating a clear return on investment.

ROI of Near Real-Time Recovery

Investing in near real-time recovery solutions is not just about technology; it's a strategic financial decision with significant ROI implications. The cost of downtime, reputational damage, and potential regulatory fines can far exceed the investment in advanced recovery solutions.

1.??? Reduced Downtime: Every minute of downtime can cost thousands, if not millions, of dollars in lost revenue and productivity. Near real-time recovery minimizes downtime, ensuring that operations resume almost immediately after an attack.

2.??? Protection Against Ransom Payments: With near real-time recovery, organizations are less likely to consider paying ransoms, ranging from hundreds of thousands to millions of dollars. Instead, they can swiftly restore their systems from the latest clean snapshot.

3.??? Enhanced Customer Trust: Rapid recovery from a cyberattack preserves customer trust and loyalty. Customers are likelier to stay with a company that demonstrates resilience and a solid commitment to protecting their data.

4.??? Regulatory Compliance and Avoidance of Fines: Data breaches often produce hefty regulatory fines. A robust recovery solution helps ensure compliance with data protection regulations, mitigating the risk of financial penalties.

5.??? Operational Continuity: Maintaining business operations without significant disruption ensures continued revenue flow and protects market position. This is particularly crucial in finance, healthcare, and retail industries, where service availability is paramount.

?Near Real-time Recovery Can Transform Your Approach to Cyberattacks

For C-level executives, the prospect of a ransomware attack is daunting, but near real-time recovery offers a beacon of hope. Solutions from Pure Storage, Rubrik, and Cohesity provide the technological edge needed to withstand and swiftly recover from cyberattacks. By adopting these advanced frameworks and architectures, your organization can ensure operational continuity, safeguard reputation, and maintain customer trust in the face of growing cyber threats.

Now is the time to act. Embrace near real-time recovery and transform your organization's resilience against ransomware and other cyber threats. The stakes are high, but with the right tools, your organization can emerge stronger and more secure than ever before.

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About the Author:

Mark is a 4x CIO and CISO for several global organizations. He is currently the Head of Executive Advisory and Corporate Strategy at Netsync. Mark has been ranked among the top 5 Global Security and AI Thought Leaders for several years and was a finalist for Ernst & Young's "Entrepreneur of the Year - SW Region.

Mark is a sought-after thought leader and speaker, covering topics like cybersecurity, artificial intelligence, IoT/OT, diversity, STEM, and veteran affairs for leading organizations like Intel, Dell, Cisco, Oracle, AT&T, and IBM Watson, to name a few.

He served honorably in the US Army's 3rd Ranger Battalion & 82nd Airborne. Mark holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Tulsa and attended The Wharton School.