Ransomware: they seek to prevent its impact using new data rescue techniques

Ransomware is the most heard word in the field of cybercrime and the one that often appears in specialized press titles.

By now everyone knows that this is a software that restricts access to certain parts or files of an operating system that are infected with it. And that he who sent it is asking for payment in exchange for removing this restriction. But little is known that there are organizations capable of rescuing that information, and they are forming a millionaire business.

The problem is big. Nearly eight out of ten companies reported experiencing at least one ransomware attack in the past 12 months. Meaning, they took or tried to retrieve almost any of their data, or paralyzed their operationsand ask for ransom (usually in some cryptocurrencies) to release that information.

But as the number of attacks increases every day, the industry is also starting to respond and rise to the occasion.

“For companies, the most important thing is to have control. Control of backup copies, using rule 3, 2, 1, 1, 0. What does this mean? It established that there should always be at least three copies of the data, on at least two different media types, at least one on external media and one offline, with zero unverified or failed backups, ” he says. Clarion Rick Vanover, Senior Director of Product Strategy at Veeam, the data backup, recovery and management company.

He did this at the company’s annual meeting with clients, suppliers and the VeeamOn 2022 press, in the city of Las Vegas.

in the event More than 2,000 people from around the world attended and 43,000 more followed online, from their homes or offices. Last year, the company invoiced $ 1,200 million for the backup service it provides.

These types of companies behave similarly to most classic computer security companies such as Avast, Kaspersky or Eset, which aim to anticipate attacks. Data backup and recovery companies They act when the disaster is over and their mission is to “lift” the service of your client in minutes through the backups they have.

Ransomware: surprising figures

Ransomware Trends Report 2022 from Lookpresented at this meeting, revealed the results of an independent research firm that surveyed managers of 1,000 companies that have successfully been attacked by ransomware at least once in the past 12 months, doing this is one of the largest reports of its kind.

In the organizations reviewed, the majority (76%) paid a ransom to end an attack and recover their data. Unfortunately, while 52% paid a ransom and recovered their data, the 24% who paid the ransom could not be returned to them, resulting in a 1 in 3 chance that, even if the ransom is paid, the data will not be recovered when lost.

“Now they’re no longer attacking a particular company. They’re artificial intelligence algorithms programmed to attack everyone and everything, playing a game of blind numbers to get as much as possible,” Vanover warned.

The other keys are encryption. Experts agreed at the meeting that the ideal is for all backups, both in the cloud and on disk, to be encrypted, but in companies handling large volumes of data, this type of technology is greatly increasing costs because more space is needed.

Specialists also point out that most people already know how ransomware works and are wary when opening an email from a stranger or clicking on a persuasive link. But, in turn, ransomware is also evolving and innovating its methods.

Central also is the ability of a company to repair the damage of an attack when it has occurred. The survey found that 94% of attackers attempted to destroy backup repositoriesand in 72% of cases this technique is at least partially successful.

“The important thing here is that if you’ve been hacked and you’re not in service, you can run the systems in the lowest amount of minutes possible thanks to the backups you have. And you can have backups in the cloud or physically , there is also an issue if you have branches. Every company is different “, assured the envoy in Las Vegas from the technical department of an Argentine company.

Veeam has clients such as Volkswagen, Frávega, Metro Gas, among others. But it is not the only one offering this type of data backup service. In the market it competes with Veritas, Rubrik and CommVault Systems, among others.

“We’re your last line of defense so you keep your data, if your problem is caused by ransomware or human error. For any company to lose operation within 10 minutes is a huge loss. These are the minutes. that you don’t charge, ”he said Clarion the Argentinean Tomás Dacoba, Director of Marketing for Latin America and the Caribbean of Veeam.

Veeam: talent and devaluation

Veeam has approximately 4,300 employees worldwide. About 200 of them are in the region, most of them in Argentina. The hub in Argentina serves the entire southern cone and northern Latin America, except Mexico and Brazil.

“Now the country is very competitive. The technical talent of Argentine engineers, many bilingual or trilingual, is highly valued in the region. And the labor cost, compared to Colombia, Mexico or Brazil, now you have huge advantage “, he explains in Clarion Dacoba.

From Vegas.