For years, backup and recovery have been the cornerstones of Data Protection and Recovery (DPR) services, providing organisations with reliable, automated, and on-demand recovery solutions. But as cyber threats evolve, so too must the strategies we rely on to protect vital business data.
Ransomware and sophisticated cyber attacks have introduced a new layer of complexity to data protection. Today’s cyber criminals can compromise traditional backup and recovery strategies, posing risks beyond those from natural disasters such as fires or floods, or even errors from malicious insiders. While traditional recovery plans may cover these threats, new tactics from cyber criminals demand a more advanced solution.
The “cyber prowler”: a new kind of threat to data security
Cyber attacks and ransomware fundamentally change the stakes of data recovery. Unlike in conventional data loss scenarios, cyber criminals often gain access to systems, lurk undetected, and wait for the right moment to strike, hiding in networks for months before launching an attack. For organisations, the risk is profound: if attackers have been hiding within systems for an extended period, a quick recovery isn’t as simple as restoring a recent backup. Recovery points may be compromised if backups have been contaminated over time. Hackers armed with full admin access can delete all backups, demonstrating creativity by deleting private keys of encrypted tape backups or manipulating retention periods to delete backups instantly, including its offsite replication.
Consider this — if your business had to rely on recovery points that are six months old, would you survive the impact of rolling back that far? Unfortunately, the statistics are grim — many businesses that suffer significant cyber or ransomware attacks struggle to stay afloat. Paying a ransom doesn’t guarantee data recovery either, as the tangled world of ransomware remains fraught with uncertainty.
The solution: an Isolated Recovery Environment (IRE)
An isolated recovery environment is a secure, separate space when an organisation keeps backup copies of its most important data. These environments are completely isolated from your primary IT infrastructure to prevent malware or ransomware from infecting your backup data.
In case of an incident, the IRE acts like a “clean room” where administrators can recover data securely, without risking reinfection. Before any restored data is reconnected to the main systems, it’s checked to ensure it’s clean, adding an extra layer of security and confidence in the recovery process.
Here’s how it works:
- Fresh, Clean Infrastructure: In the IRE, recovery is conducted on new, untainted equipment, enabling your team to restore data safely, with a minimised risk of reintroducing malware or hidden threats
- Guided Recovery: An IRE provider will work alongside your cyber insurance or support teams, ensuring that forensic experts can analyse and close vulnerabilities. This approach helps ensure the infiltration point is identified, closing gaps to prevent reoccurrence
- Verified Clean Points for Restoration: Forensic tools scan for possible threats within your backups, allowing you to pinpoint clean restore points that won’t reinfect systems
- Safety in Isolation: The IRE remains separate from your regular recovery environments, so if any dormant threats evade detection, they won’t affect your primary operations. This buffer zone provides invaluable assurance that your data is truly clean and safe to use
Why an Isolated Recovery Environment matters
Without the protection of an IRE, organisations risk reintroducing threats back into their network during the recovery process. This “hidden reinfection” can leave you stuck in a cycle of endless recovery attempts, each one costing valuable time and resources. An isolated environment provides a secure space to verify data integrity and, if needed, start afresh with clean data.
Incorporating an IRE into your business continuity plan
Not every incident will involve ransomware or a cyber attack, but an IRE adds an extra layer of confidence while these threats continue to increase, along with the penalties for not being prepared.
Conclusion
With cyber threats growing more sophisticated, operational resilience strategies must evolve in response. IREs have become a crucial component for protecting vital data. Investing in IREs today helps ensure the security, integrity, and resilience of your organisation well into the future.
Ready to strengthen your data protection strategy?
For more information, or to see how we can help incorporate an IRE into your data protection and recovery strategy, reach out to one of our sales specialists today.