Ethical Hacking News
As cyberattacks become more frequent and complex, IT teams are shifting their focus from simply backing up data to maintaining operations during an incident. Ransomware is one of the key drivers behind this shift, with attacks now targeting supply chains to disrupt multiple organizations at once. To build a resilience-first strategy, IT leaders must adopt immutable backups, automated recovery testing, and orchestrated recovery playbooks.
In recent years, traditional backup strategies are no longer sufficient to protect against ransomware.Ransomware-as-a-Service (RaaS) platforms have increased the threat of cyberattacks on small and midsize businesses (SMBs).A single day of downtime can cost SMBs up to $55,076 in lost revenue.Organizations need a cyber resilience strategy that integrates immutable backups, automated recovery testing, and orchestrated recovery playbooks.Immutable backups stored off-site are essential for reducing risk from ransomware and physical threats.Automated, verified recovery testing is crucial to ensure systems can restore under pressure.Developing and documenting recovery playbooks is essential for a clear and role-specific strategy.Cyber resilience reduces the need for insurance payouts after the fact, ensuring business continuity while threats unfold.
In recent years, IT teams have come to realize that traditional backup strategies are no longer sufficient to protect their organizations from the growing threat of ransomware. With the increasing frequency and complexity of cyberattacks, it's time for IT leaders to rethink their approach to business continuity and resilience.
Ransomware-as-a-Service (RaaS) platforms have made it possible for even inexperienced threat actors to launch large-scale, damaging attacks. These attacks not only encrypt data but also exfiltrate sensitive information, alter or delete backups, and disable recovery infrastructure to block restoration efforts. This is especially critical for small and midsize businesses (SMBs), which are increasingly targeted due to their leaner defenses.
A single day of downtime can cost an SMB generating $10 million in annual revenue up to $55,076, without factoring in the long-term impact on customer trust and brand reputation. While also considering the mounting pressure to meet compliance mandates, tightening regulations in sectors like finance and healthcare, and the evolving standards set by cyber insurance providers, it's no longer enough to simply back up critical data.
Organizations need a cyber resilience strategy that enables them to maintain operations even during major disruptions. This requires a more comprehensive approach that integrates immutable backups, automated recovery testing, and orchestrated recovery playbooks.
Immutable backups stored off-site in the cloud are essential for reducing risk from both ransomware and physical threats. These backups can't be modified or deleted by ransomware, unlike local systems that may be compromised if admin credentials are breached.
Automated, verified recovery testing is crucial to ensure systems can restore under pressure. A backup that hasn't been tested is unreliable, and confidence in the recovery plan should come from proof, not assumptions. Automating verification ensures the recoverability of not just files but also full application-level services.
Developing and documenting recovery playbooks is essential for a clear and role-specific strategy. These playbooks should outline step-by-step procedures for restoring operations, including guidance for reconnecting staff to systems and resuming operations. Training non-technical teams to respond appropriately is also crucial, as silence and confusion can create lasting damage.
By adopting a resilience-first approach, IT leaders can reduce both the likelihood of severe disruption and the impact when it occurs. Cyber resilience reduces the need for insurance payouts after the fact, ensuring the business can still operate while the threat unfolds.
To build a resilience-first strategy that aligns with operational priorities and board-level expectations, IT leaders should start by conducting a business impact analysis (BIA) to map IT systems to the functions they support. They must identify which systems are essential to revenue and service delivery and determine the financial and reputational cost of each hour of downtime.
Layering defenses around critical recovery infrastructure is also crucial. This includes enforcing multifactor authentication, using separate admin credentials for backup consoles, and implementing solutions that can detect ransomware activity early within backup environments.
Automating backup verification and testing is essential for confidence in the recovery plan. Automated backup testing validates integrity, while orchestrated DR runbook testing simulates full recovery workflows.
In conclusion, building a resilience-first strategy requires a more comprehensive approach than traditional backup strategies. By adopting immutable backups, automated recovery testing, and orchestrated recovery playbooks, IT leaders can protect their organizations from the growing threat of ransomware. It's time to rethink backup strategies in favor of a cyber resilience approach that prioritizes business continuity and operations.
Related Information:
https://www.ethicalhackingnews.com/articles/Building-Resilience-How-IT-Leaders-Can-Rethink-Backup-Strategies-in-the-Age-of-Ransomware-ehn.shtml
https://thehackernews.com/2025/07/how-cyber-resilience-helps-it-defend-against-ransomwa.html
Published: Fri Jul 18 06:46:01 2025 by llama3.2 3B Q4_K_M
