EDITOR ’ S QUESTION
MODEEN MALIK , PRINCIPAL SYSTEMS
ENGINEER , COMMVAULT
Modern data protection platforms are designed to provide layered protection across cloud , on-premises and Softwareas-a-Service , SaaS workloads , as most organisations have hybrid IT ecosystems . Effective data protection is provided through three pillars – secure , defend and recover – and offers customers true cloud cyber resilience in the ever-changing digital landscape .
This cyber resilience can be further bolstered by incorporating Artificial Intelligence , AI and Machine Learning , ML capabilities , which empower organisations to take proactive steps based on early warning of attacks . Early warning systems provide the ability to detect threats before they impact an organisation ’ s data . This is done with smart decoys and threat sensors that mimic real workloads , assets and backup environments to keep attackers away from valuable data by redirecting them to compromise false resources .
Other key aspects of early warning are accurate alerting , triggered when attacks or anomalies are detected in the environment , and threat insights that can provide a detailed analysis of anomalous activities , behaviours and data events . These elements need to seamlessly integrate with an organisation ’ s security stacks and can be automated through AI to detect risk and malicious activities .
These powerful , enterprise-grade data protection systems not only provide air gap protection against cyberattacks and early warning ransomware detection with cyber deception . Additionally , they support business continuity and disaster recovery , BCDR plans , which enable organisations to respond to disruptions faster and to minimise the effects of cyberattacks .
While data is a company ’ s crown jewel , it is also the main target of cyberattacks . However , as risks evolve and IT resources shrink to budget constraints , companies are increasingly being challenged to protect their critical business data . To effectively safeguard data from new and emerging threats , data protection must be reimagined , and companies need to adopt solutions that go beyond traditional backup and recovery .
Unfortunately , data protection is still commonly miscategorised by many as a process of nightly backups .
It is therefore imperative for IT and security professionals to shield and secure their backup infrastructure from malicious attacks , with data protection coverage that layers across data centres , the cloud and beyond .
Considering the rapid rate at which cyber threats are evolving , it has become the focal point in most organisations ’ IT landscapes , underscoring the need to adopt future-proof , next-generation data protection technologies with security capabilities that include features such as cyber resilience and data security .
Unfortunately , data protection is still commonly miscategorised by many as a process of nightly backups , but this is flawed thinking that puts data protection in a box . While routine backups will always be a requirement – it is just one ingredient .
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