Introduction
In the corporate world, where information security is a critical factor for business continuity, executives often perceive Cyber Recovery as merely an extension of traditional backup solutions. However, this assumption can lead to a significant strategic risk. While both aim to ensure data recovery, Cyber Recovery is a more advanced and resilient approach designed specifically to protect against cyber threats, such as ransomware attacks. While traditional backups are essential for restoring data after operational failures, Cyber Recovery ensures the integrity and availability of information in a secure, isolated environment, preventing attacks from compromising its recovery.
Different approaches
The main difference between Cyber Recovery and Backup lies in their purpose and data protection strategy. While both involve data preservation and recovery, their approaches and objectives are distinct:
Main Purpose
a) Backup: Aims to ensure data recovery in the event of failures, accidental deletions, or natural disasters.
b) Cyber Recovery: Focuses on protection against cyberattacks, particularly ransomware, ensuring secure and uncompromised data recovery.
Protection Against Cyberattacks
a) Backup: Can be vulnerable to attacks if not properly isolated, as hackers may encrypt or delete backups.
b) Cyber Recovery: Uses an isolated digital vault (air-gapped) to prevent unauthorized access, protecting against ransomware and other threats.
Data Location
a) Backup: Can be stored on local servers, in the cloud, or on tapes, typically accessible within the corporate network.
b) Cyber Recovery: Stores data in a highly secure environment, often offline or with restricted and monitored access.
Frequency and Retention
a) Backup: Follows regular backup policies (daily, weekly) and retains versions based on business requirements.
b) Cyber Recovery: Maintains longer retention periods and “immutable” versions of data, preventing unauthorised modifications.
Data Recovery
a) Backup: Focuses on quickly restoring files, systems, or databases after technical failures.
b) Cyber Recovery: Incorporates verification and validation processes before recovery, ensuring that files have not been compromised.
Security and Immutability
a) Backup: May not offer immutability, making data susceptible to modification or deletion.
b) Cyber Recovery: Implements immutability mechanisms to prevent unauthorised alterations or deletions.
Conclusion
Backup is essential for data recovery in cases of operational failures, while Cyber Recovery is an advanced strategy designed to protect data from cyber threats, ensuring its integrity and secure restoration. Businesses with growing cybersecurity concerns should consider implementing a Cyber Recovery Vault to complement their backup strategies.
To address these challenges, LockEM offers LATO, an innovative solution which leverages artificial intelligence algorithms to analyse data behaviour in real-time. By detecting anomalies and suspicious activity, LATO identifies ransomware and malware attacks before they can compromise critical information. This proactive approach not only enhances cybersecurity but also guarantees data integrity and rapid recovery, providing organisations with a robust defence against evolving digital threats.
