An Alternative Method to Defend Against Ransomware – Advanced Data Protection Strategies

Introduction

Ransomware remains one of the biggest cybersecurity threats to businesses today. Even organizations with strong firewalls and antivirus software are not immune.

To ensure full resilience, IT administrators must explore alternative methods to defend against ransomware, going beyond traditional endpoint protection to secure data backups, isolate networks, and strengthen recovery plans.

1. The Rising Threat of Ransomware

According to Cybersecurity Ventures, ransomware attacks are expected to cost businesses over $265 billion annually by 2031. Attackers target backups, encrypt data, and demand payment, leaving companies helpless without recovery options.

Traditional defenses (antivirus, intrusion detection) are no longer enough — you need a layered, backup-driven defense strategy.

2. Alternative Ransomware Defense: Immutable Backups

Immutable backups are the backbone of a modern ransomware protection plan. These backups cannot be modified or deleted, even by administrators.

Best practices:

Store critical backups in immutable storage (e.g., Veeam Hardened Repositories or cloud object storage).
Use air-gapped or offline backup copies.
Test recovery regularly to ensure data integrity.

3. Offline Storage

Today, I want to share an unconventional data storage method with everyone: using a rotating system of external hard drives for backup storage. This approach is quite creative and rarely used by administrators. Typically, such rotation methods are more common with optical discs and tapes, and are rarely used with external hard drives. It's important to note that this method isn't a foolproof solution that lets you rest easy; it's more of an unconventional workaround for using offline drives.

Scenario and Requirements:

- A portable hard drive enclosure that allows for easy drive swapping—the faster, the better. Generally, interfaces like USB 3, USB-C, or eSATA are good choices, with USB 3 and USB-C being more universal.

- Multiple high-capacity mechanical hard drives, preferably 7200 RPM SATA drives, which are usually compatible with these portable enclosures.

- Backup data is written to each drive in rotation based on a set cycle, and the backup administrator removes the drives periodically for offline storage.

Achieved Outcomes:

- As long as the data hasn't been tampered with or encrypted before going offline, the data on the drive is secure once offline.

- The backup data on each drive is self-contained and doesn't depend on other drives.

- Each drive contains its own metadata configuration file for reading information during data usage.

- Compared to tapes, this method has advantages: data usage and restoration are more straightforward.

4. Network Isolation and Zero Trust Architecture

Prevent ransomware from spreading by implementing Zero Trust principles:

Limit network access with role-based security.
Segment networks to isolate critical workloads.
Disable unnecessary protocols like SMB and RDP.

📌 Refer to CISA’s Zero Trust Maturity Model for detailed recommendations.

5. Leverage Backup Software with Built-in Security

Tools like Veeam Backup & Replication or Vinchin Backup & Recovery offer ransomware defense through:

Immutable repositories
Encrypted backups
Multi-factor authentication for console access
Built-in anomaly detection

Conclusion

The best way to defend against ransomware isn’t just prevention—it’s resilient recovery. By combining immutable backups, network isolation, and layered protection, organizations can guarantee data safety even after an attack.

The future of cybersecurity depends on proactive data protection — make sure your backup and recovery strategies are ready.

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