Absolute Immutability The Ultimate Ransomware Defense

Topics: absolute immutability, Backup Storage, immutable storage, Object Storage, ransomware protection

Pages: 13

Company: Object First

Ransomware has emerged as the most pressing cybersecurity threat—in fact, 66% of organizations have experienced at least one ransomware attack in the past two years. With the potentially devastating consequences of an attack, this is no longer just an “IT problem,” but must command the attention of CIOs, CEOs, and boards of directors who hold organizational— and increasingly legal—responsibility for business continuity.

To defend against ransomware, organizations must adopt a modern, multi-layered cybersecurity strategy grounded in Zero Trust principles. This includes deploying a comprehensive suite of tools and solutions such as firewall, malware detection, threat hunting, access management, endpoint/extended detection and response, and more. However, the stark truth remains: no system is impenetrable, no matter how robust your defenses are. That’s why it’s critical to assume breach and prepare for recovery.

The only guaranteed path to recovery after a ransomware attack is to maintain completely reliable backups. In this paper we introduce a new concept—‘Absolute Immutability’— which means data cannot be altered or deleted under any circumstances ensuring that even if your production and data backup systems or access controls are compromised, your data remains safe.

Without Absolute Immutability, many organizations remain vulnerable. While 96% of ransomware attacks now target backups in addition to primary systems, 41% of organizations admit they do not use immutable storage for backup data.

This paper describes how Absolute Immutability is the ultimate defense against ransomware, and provides practical guidance for business and IT leadership teams on adopting it for reliable business resilience.