Asigra Inc., a leading cloud backup, recovery and restore software provider since 1986, today highlighted rapid adoption of the company's Asigra Cloud Backup V14 software as partners recognize the advantages of a strong preventative strategy against ransomware attack-loops. This comes as global damages now range in the billions with individuals and organizations seeking stronger data protection and security measures to address the ongoing threat.

The profits of cyber-criminals dealing in ransomware have been under pressure as organizations use backup data to avoid paying ransoms to recover criminally encrypted or deleted files and other information. In order to defeat data recovery efforts, ransomware coders have developed attack-loops which stealthily insert malicious executable code within an organization's file system. Once in place the ransomware does not detonate immediately, but is timed to execute at a later date. In the meantime, this ransomware variant undergoes repeated backups over many months. When the execution date arrives, the encryption or deletion process begins. As a result, the backup administrator will then recover data that has been criminally impacted, only to find that the recovery data is infected with hidden ransomware where it encrypts files all over again - forcing the ransom payment.

Backup vendors are responding to ransomware in one of two ways to this increasingly sophisticated malware. The most common approach used to address this is to implement malware detection that discovers detonations once they occur, then providing a reactive data recovery process. The unfortunate consequence of this approach is that there is little confirmation that encrypted data can be recovered once it has been impacted because of the fatal attack-loop.

"Experts say the best defense against a ransomware attack is a good backup, replica, or snapshot," said Trenton R. Baker, Senior Product Marketing Manager, KeepItSafe Inc. "But to ensure that backup is safe to recover from, you must protect it. In addition to its premier data protection capabilities, Asigra Cloud Backup Evolved V14 is our choice because of its well thought out approach to dealing with ransomware and other malware threats."

A new direction in the defense of backup data against ransomware is being adopted by managed service providers on a broad scale. Asigra Cloud Backup Evolved V14 provides a preventative approach that is designed to stop backup deletions and encryptions from the outset. The solution incorporates a unique cybersecurity capability that detects ransomware infections in the backup stream, isolates the infected files, prevents them from being backed up, and notifies the administrator(s). The organization can then identify the infected files and remove them before they detonate. Asigra Cloud Backup Evolved V14 also prevents infected files that may have been backed up in previous generations of backup data to ensure a reliable recovery.

"Avoiding the increasing number of ransomware attacks on backup data requires a move from the status quo to a much more proactive stance," said Des Lekerman, CEO, TIG Ltd. "We are a leading Cloud Managed Services provider and partner with Asigra because they provide an innovative solution that delivers defense in depth by making backup data harder to locate with variable repository naming. It also removes ransomware from the backup and recovery streams and stops unauthorized backup data deletions with two-factor authentication."

"Ransomware attack-loops are a sinister threat impacting many organizations around the world and forcing ransom payments by eliminating the customer's ability to recover uncorrupted data," said Mark Saville, Director, Data2Vault. "However, our clients avoid this issue with Asigra-powered cloud backup and recovery services by Data2Vault, featuring bi-directional malware detection, zero-day exploit protection and much more to prevent the possibility of a successful attack."

"When depending on backup as a form of protection against the more intelligent strains of ransomware, more backup solution providers are turning to the only truly converged backup/security platform on the market," said Eran Farajun, Executive Vice President, Asigra. "Asigra Cloud Backup Evolved V14 ensures backup data will be safe and recoverable every time, giving organizations the best chance of overcoming the extortion attempts of malicious coders."

Learn more about Asigra Cloud Backup Evolved V14 in this video discussion concerning ransomware attack-loops and how to defeat them: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L3Q6UJUzEhA.