The ransomware threat is increasing according to industry analysts. Not only is the frequency of ransomware attacks growing but the sophistication and the amount of money demanded are also increasing. For larger organizations, the demands are often for millions of dollars.

At XenData, we have seen an increase in the number of customers hit with a devastating ransomware attack. These have mainly been TV stations in North and South America. Fortunately, XenData LTO archives have intrinsic properties that allow for straight-forward data recovery – without paying a ransom!

A XenData archive system maintains all versions of all files on LTO data tape, including for deleted files. If the malware gets as far as over-writing any file with an encrypted version, the original version is still stored on LTO. The XenData support team is then able to roll back the system to a state just before the attack occurred and make all the original files available, just as they were prior to the attack.

A second level of defense is provided by XenData’s automatic replication of LTO cartridges. This functionality is included in all XenData systems that manage an LTO library and we strongly recommend it to all our customers for many reasons, not just for ransomware protection. When enabled and configured to automatically create one additional copy of every LTO cartridge, a user can easily export one tape from the mirrored pair and keep it offline. This creates an air-gapped version that is immune from cyber-attack.

The use of unalterable WORM (Write Once Read Many) LTO cartridges provides a third level of defense which is supported by all XenData LTO archive systems. WORM cartridges are easy to use in a XenData system as the interfaces to the applications using the archive do not change.

The use of LTO data tape for large archives continues to be very popular because it is very cost-effective and provides a secure long-term storage solution. Now with the growing ransomware threat, it becomes an even more attractive option.