Ransomware is attacking NAS data – are you prepared?
Challenges
Ransomware is hitting us from every angle, we know. Ransomware, malicious activity, and other ransomware strains are looking for new routes to your data. It’s only a matter of time before you and your business are in serious trouble.
Unstructured data can be another target of these ransomware strains. Businesses were infected by ransomware via email and exploit kits that were hidden on websites. These new attack methods focusing on NAS devices use a different method.
Malicious activity is caused by scanning a variety of IP addresses looking for NAS devices that can be accessed via the internet or within the network. Many devices have software that has vulnerabilities. These exploits allow attackers to install the malware on these devices, which then encrypts all data connected to the NAS.
Prevention
Ransomware is something that we will likely have to deal with in our daily lives as we move forward. However, there are still ways we can minimize that threat.
Antivirus
Although antivirus is a requirement for all businesses and in every area of the business, vendors must update their antivirus libraries to guard against specific variants. There are many options for protecting against ransomware attacks, and there is no one tool that can protect you 100%.
Software updates
Software updates are another thing to consider as a preventative measure. As preventive patches are continually being released by vendors, you can reduce vulnerabilities.
Permissions
It is helpful to have a routine that ensures that permissions are correct and that only certain files and shares can be accessed by people.
Education
This isn’t just an IT issue. This is a problem that affects the entire workforce. Everyone needs to be aware of the danger they are facing.
Backup
Backup is the last one! Backup is my favorite because it is what you do if something happens.
How to protect your unstructured data
Veeam allows you to secure your unstructured data in an easy, flexible and reliable way.
Veeam can help you if your unstructured data is stored on a NAS device for SMB, or if your data is stored on Windows or Linux file server to share across your business.
Time is a major challenge when it comes to protecting unstructured data. Veeam introduced Changed file Tracking, which allows super-fast, incremental backups. This means that backups don’t take hours to complete.
Veeam does not tie into any particular NAS vendor. Veeam is completely independent of the vendor and can protect your data as it sees fit. Veeam can use native storage snapshots from NAS devices to reduce the production load and offload performance.
Ransomware attacks: How to recover NAS backups
When it comes to ransomware attacks, the first thing you should do is to make sure that your production has been remediated before you consider a recovery method from a backup. Restoring from a backup is not advisable if the threat remains. The restored data will only work if the threat has been removed.
After the ransomware attack and threat have been resolved, it is important to make sure that your business and users have access to the most recent data.
Veeam’s NAS Backup offers a unique ability to restore data. It also allows for a rollback function.
Rollback to a specific time is what I’ve been calling the “Last good configuration” option. This option will revert all files modified between the date and time specified to a previous version. This option will protect you from malicious activity within your organization by restoring deleted files.