Are Asian businesses really prepared to deal with ransomware attacks?

Recovering from a ransomware attack isn’t an easy process unless an organization has sufficient backup and recovery software in place. However, the reality is, while most businesses have backups, they often lack proper data recovery solutions and could spend too much time getting their services back up and running.

Even if data can be retrieved from cybercriminals, there are still numerous checks and filtration processes that need to be carried out to ensure the stolen data are valid and secured.

According to Dell Technologies 2021 Global Data Protection Index (GDPI) findings, organizations are facing several data protection challenges driven by the constant threat of ransomware and the consumption of emerging technologies such as cloud-native applications, Kubernetes containers, and AI.

Data has exponentially increased in recent times with most organizations globally managing more than ten times the amount of data than they did five years ago. In the Asia Pacific region, 82% of IT decision-makers are concerned their existing data protection solutions won’t meet all future business challenges.

In fact, the study shows that businesses in the Asia Pacific have suffered significant data loss over the past twelve months, losing 1.88TB of data. Since then, as-a-service offerings are gaining ground with only 1% of respondents from APJ saying they would not pursue such offerings.

While there is no denying that the widespread adoption of working from home has increased the chances of ransomware attacks, many employees lack confidence in the capacity of their organization’s data protection strategy, especially in defending and recovering from cyber threats. Some concerns experiencing a disruptive event in the next twelve months could be financially devastating to their business.

At the same time, both large and small organizations want to keep pace with new and emerging technologies and leverage cloud services. Yet, many are struggling to find suitable data protection solutions to secure them. Many believe that these technologies pose a risk to data protection and these anticipated risks are contributing to fears that organizations are not future-ready.

Investing in emerging technologies provides competitive advantages. However, it is prerogative for organizations to ensure their data protection infrastructure can adequately support adoption. Today, the cloud also plays an important role in disaster recovery and long-term retention strategies. While applications are being updated and deployed across a range of cloud environments, confidence is often lacking when it comes to how well data can be protected.

However, having one too many data protection vendors and a variety of as-a-service solutions can be complex, especially when it comes to integrating them. While managed services can help managed them, organizations that are using a single data protection vendor are less likely to have experienced data loss, data access issues, and unplanned systems downtime incidents in the past year than those engaging multiple vendors. Similarly, those using a single vendor reported lower levels of data loss than their peers who opted to use multiple vendors.

Recovering from ransomware attacks

To help address these rising and seemingly inevitable issues, Dell Technologies introduced new software and services to accelerate virtual machine (VM) backup data availability, simplify management of large data sets, and maintain business continuity while alleviating dependencies on day-to-day cyber recovery operations.

According to Lucas Salter, general manager, Data Protection Solutions, Dell Technologies, Asia Pacific & Japan, with over two-thirds of the respondents in the GDPI findings from the Asia Pacific concerned their organizations’ existing data protection measures may not be sufficient to cope with malware and ransomware threats, Dell understands that the stakes have never been higher and protecting data has never been more complex.

“We have been working with our customers across the region to address this growing challenge by adopting a holistic cybersecurity and data protection strategy to reduce risk and ensure resilience in the event of a ransomware or other cyberattack,” said Lucas.

New software and managed services offerings include:

• Dell EMC PowerProtect Data Manager adds Transparent Snapshots – By simplifying and automating VM image-level backups and requiring less infrastructure, Transparent Snapshots deliver up to five times faster backups and up to a five-time reduction in VM latency, helping organizations ensure the availability of VM data effectively and efficiently.
• Dell EMC PowerProtect appliances with Smart Scale – helps organizations manage multiple data protection appliances at an exabyte scale, allowing IT staff to make informed decisions about their capacity needs.
• Dell Technologies Managed Services for Cyber Recovery Solution – helps organizations drive consistent operations and reduce the risk of data loss by having Dell experts manage day-to-day cyber recovery vault operations and support recovery activities.

Tian Beng Ng, senior vice president, and general manager, Channel, Dell Technologies, Asia Pacific, and Japan said, “Hybrid work arrangements bring with it new threats that make effective cybersecurity practices a challenge for businesses of all sizes. Successful security transformation is based on working in collaboration with a wider ecosystem, from partnering with vendors in providing the best-in-class solutions to enhancing cyber resilience with their local know-how.”

Beng Ng added that the channel partners play a vital role in how Dell drives innovations brought to the market. New offerings such as Transparent Snapshots and Smart Scale will offer organizations greater speed and agility in the race to protect their virtual infrastructure.

For Phil Goodwin, research vice president at IDC, evolving ransomware and other cyber attacks require innovation to outpace them. With the new technologies by Dell are designed to deal with this, businesses may just be able to increase their ability to recover from a ransomware attack with the least amount of disruption.

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