NewsBytes

In this NewsBytes edition, we’re sharing the results from a unique data security
survey conducted by the LTO Program. The goal was to find out what concerns
DECEMBER 2021
IT managers have when it comes to ransomware – and what actions they are
taking to defend against cyberattack.

SURVEY SAYS: YOU CAN DEFEND

AGAINST RANSOMWARE
Ransomware attacks continue to occur at alarming rates. According to a survey
by Sophos, 51% of the participating organizations were hit by an attack in 2020. More News From The LTO Program:
The average cost to recover from an attack was $1.85M (US)! Businesses are rightly For news and information on the LTO
concerned about how to prevent malware attacks and how to recover in the event
Program, as well as hot industry topics,
an attack occurs. The LTO Program conducted a unique data security survey with
find us on: BlogBytes, Linkedin and
IT executives to find out what their fundamental security concerns are and what
Twitter. Come and join us!
actions they are taking to defend against cyber-criminal activity. Read on to get the
key findings that will open your eyes to this on-going nefarious threat.

tactics and practices. Those that listed Last but certainly not least, respondents were
Ransomware/Cyber Security as their top asked if they keep an offline copy of data via tape,
concern said the main two reasons why they such as LTO tape, and nearly 80% said YES!
made that choice were that they are seeing
a rise in attacks (52%) and the risk of lost
revenue and reputation (40%).

TOP STORAGE CONCERNS
Respondents in the LTO Program security
survey were from a cross section of
industries, including media and entertainment,
technology and cloud services, government,
healthcare, manufacturing and finance.
The amount of data they manage ranged
from 20 TBs to 200 TBs. What was their
top concern? Well, you could probably
guess: 35% of respondents stated that
Ransomware/Cyber Security was at the
top of the list. The top two reasons why they
chose Ransomware/Cyber Security were
because they are seeing a rise in ransomware
attacks over the last year and because they do
not want to risk loss of revenue or reputation.
Not surprisingly, Budget Control came
in second for top concerns. This is likely
because the expense to recover from a
malware attack can weigh heavily on an IT
executives mind. The costs to recover from
an attack typically involves system downtime,
workforce expense, network and system
device costs, loss of revenue, impaired
reputation, and ransom payments.
Not far behind budget control worries was
the third place concern: Exponential Data
Growth. This makes sense - IDC has predicted
that IT organizations can expect to deal with
approximately 7.5 ZB of data by 2025 and
organizations are archiving more and more
information for analytic purposes to remain
competitive. Happy side note: LTO-9
technology is on the way with up to 45 TBs of
compressed data per cartridge to help ease
the burden of this data growth explosion.
DATA SECURITY CONCERNS
EXPLAINED
The LTO Program security survey respondents
were asked to explain their answers which
revealed some very insightful data security
On the flip side, those that did not choose
Ransomware/Cyber Security said the top
reason was because they have systems in
place to mitigate the risks, which include
offline storage. Strategic data protection
note: when an LTO tape cartridge is
removed from the tape drive it is offline
providing an air gap between the tape
data and the system which helps prevent
cyber-criminal access. In the event of a
cyber-attack the offline LTO tape can be
used to recover critical data. In addition,
the tape can be moved offsite to protect the
data in the event of a primary site disaster.
HOW DO THEY PROTECT
THE DATA?
Survey respondents were asked which
policy or measure is most important in
protecting the organization from the impact
of a ransomware attack. Little surprise: the
top strategy is Offline Data Backup (83%).
As previously noted, LTO tapes provide
offline data protection when a cartridge is
removed from the drive. In addition, LTO
technology offers native tape drive hardware
encryption, which can protect the data in the
event a cartridge was to get into the wrong
hands. Closely behind offline data backup for
protecting the organization were Employee
Education/Security Awareness (78%)
and Strong Antivirus Software (58%).
When asked which actions would be im-
plemented to recover if their systems were
impacted by a ransomware attack that locked
out critical data, a significant majority said
they would restore data with Offline Back-
ups (70%). In a distant second place, 15%
said they would restore from a cloud
or a remote backup.
PREPARE AND PREVENT
The LTO Program security survey responses
are revealing and reinforce the concepts
that comprise a solid data protection plan.
As noted in a recent LTO BlogBytes article -
there are a number of steps that you can
take to prepare for and prevent a cyberattack.
The FBI published a list of must do protective
actions including:
• Backup your data, system images and
configurations, test your backups and
keep the backups offline.
• Utilize multi-factor authentication.
• Keep operating systems, software, and
applications current and up to date.
• Make sure anti-virus and anti-malware
solutions are set to automatically update
and run regular scans.
• Create a continuity or incident response
plan in case your business or organization
is the victim of a ransomware attack.
In addition, it’s important to educate
employees on how to safely handle
suspicious emails and website links.
Also, you should investigate and examine
how attackers could access your systems.
In other words, plug the leaks in the systems
pipes so they don’t leak anymore.
Don’t become a statistic. Put an action plan
in place using LTO technology to help secure
your data against ransomware attacks.
See the compelling benefits of tape against
ransomware in a short video here.

For more details, check out white papers, articles and other useful information at www.lto.org
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