Introduction
Ransomware is no longer a simple lock-and-demand scheme. In 2024, attackers target not just production systems but backups themselves. When your recovery fails, your business goes dark. While many believe cloud backups are safe, that myth is being shattered by real-world incidents.
Let’s debunk the illusion of secure cloud backups and explore why self-hosted, air-gapped, immutable backup systems are the only real defense.
Ransomware Targets Backup APIs
Modern ransomware variants like LockBit 3.0 and BlackCat now include scripts to seek and destroy backups, including those stored on cloud platforms like AWS, Google Cloud, and Azure. Attackers use stolen credentials or compromised API keys to erase or encrypt backups remotely.
In 2023, a financial services firm lost all cloud-based backups to an attack that started via a phished Google IAM account.
Cloud Recycle Bins Are Not Secure Enough
Most cloud storage platforms offer “versioning” or soft-delete bins. These aren’t true immutable backups. They can often be purged with proper permissions or overwritten silently by malware.
By contrast, on-premise backup appliances can be set to write-once, read-many (WORM) with strict air-gap policies. That’s how you ensure true immutability.
Regulatory Risk: Incomplete Backups = Non-Compliance
Under HIPAA and PCI-DSS, your backups must be recoverable, auditable, and timely. If a ransomware incident renders your cloud backups unreadable or deleted, you’re not just down… you’re in violation!
Self-hosted environments offer granular control, logs, and documentation of each backup cycle, ideal for auditors and recovery drills.
Air-Gapped Backups Stop Propagation
Cloud backups are always network-accessible, which means they’re vulnerable to lateral movement. On-prem backups can be fully disconnected from the internet or rotated offline (e.g., through USB rotation or isolated NAS systems).
EXIGENCY implements automated air-gapping and tiered replication to keep a clean copy safe; no matter what hits your systems.
FINAL THOUGHTS: ON-PREM BACKUP IS REAL RESILIENCE
Don’t trust backups you don’t control. EXIGENCY’s backup architecture ensures your recovery point is always there, immutable, encrypted, and offline when needed.
Cyber resilience isn’t just recovery, it’s guaranteed recovery.
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