In this Protect Your Data: How Backups on a Synology NAS Can Save You from Ransomware blog post, we will talk about Synology Active Backup for Business. In today’s digital landscape, ransomware attacks have become one of the biggest threats to individuals and businesses. This type of malware locks you out of your data, holding it hostage until you pay a ransom. From small businesses to large enterprises, nobody is immune. The financial losses and downtime caused by ransomware attacks can be devastating. This is why it’s critical to have a strong cybersecurity plan, and an essential part of that plan should be backups. Let’s dive into why backups, especially using a Synology NAS, can be your best line of defense against ransomware.
Understanding Ransomware: How It Works
Ransomware is designed to infiltrate your systems, encrypt your files, and demand a payment (ransom) for their release. The effects can be catastrophic:
- Data theft: Sensitive data is stolen or encrypted, making it inaccessible.
- Financial loss: Ransom payments and recovery costs can be significant.
- Business downtime: Companies may face operational paralysis, leading to a loss of revenue and customer trust.
According to the FBI, over 4,000 ransomware attacks occur every day. The stakes for small and medium-sized businesses are even higher: 50% have already experienced a cyber-attack, and 60% may not survive the aftermath. Traditional security measures like antivirus software, firewalls, and endpoint protection are helpful, but backups are the true lifeline for ransomware recovery.
Why Traditional Security Measures Aren’t Enough
While tools like antivirus software and firewalls are essential, they have limits. Cyber threats are evolving; even the most up-to-date systems can have vulnerabilities. A layered security approach is necessary, but it’s crucial not to overlook one of the most effective defenses against ransomware: a robust backup solution. Here’s what is often missed:
Overlooked Backup Essentials
- Eliminate Data Silos.
One common issue in backup strategies is the existence of data silos, isolated pockets of data that aren’t being properly backed up. This is where Synology Active Backup for Business shines. The Auto Discovery feature can automatically add new devices, like virtual machines, to your backup tasks. This ensures you don’t miss critical data from new sites or user groups, reducing the risk of leaving important files unprotected.
- Simplify Your Backup Process.
The easier it is to manage your backups, the more likely you will use them consistently. Synology Active Backup for Business offers a single-pane-of-glass interface, letting you manage backups across devices like laptops, VMs, and more. Features like incremental backup and global data deduplication ensure you only back up changed data and eliminate duplicate data blocks. This not only saves space but also preserves the integrity of your backups.
- Review Backup Retention Policies.
Did you know that ransomware often lies dormant for months before striking? This means you could be backing up infected files without knowing it. Regularly reviewing and adjusting your backup retention policies is key. Synology backup solutions allow for customizable schedules and retention periods, ensuring you have access to clean, uncorrupted backups when needed.
- Test Your Backups Regularly.
It’s not enough to have backups, you need to test them. The worst time to find out your backups are corrupted or incomplete is when you need them. Synology Active Backup for Business can easily run tests using instant restore features, allowing you to quickly spin up your backups as virtual machines using VMware, Hyper-V, or Synology Virtual Machine Manager. This way, you can verify your data’s integrity and minimize downtime in case of an attack.
- Follow the 3-2-1 Backup Rule.
Ransomware attacks often aim to delete or corrupt your backups. Protect your data by following the 3-2-1 backup rule: Keep three copies of it, store them on two different media, and keep one copy offsite. Using Synology Hyper Backup or Snapshot Replication, you can easily replicate your backups offsite, ensuring that your data is safe even if your main systems are compromised.
What is Synology Active Backup for Business?
If you’re managing IT infrastructure, you know the importance of keeping data secure and ensuring it can be recovered quickly in an emergency. One of the biggest challenges in today’s environment is dealing with ransomware and other cyber threats that can cripple your business operations. This is where Synology Active Backup for Business (ABB) steps in, providing an integrated, easy-to-manage solution for backing up everything from PCs and servers to virtual machines, all within a single Synology NAS setup.
-
Centralized Management and Simplified Administration
The first thing that stands out about ABB is its centralized management interface. You can control all backup tasks from one dashboard, making overseeing and configuring policies across your organization easy. This single-pane-of-glass approach reduces complexity for IT administrators, as you don’t have to juggle multiple backup tools for different platforms. Instead, everything Windows PC, Mac, physical server, or virtual machine, can be managed seamlessly.
-
Efficient and Space-Saving Backups
One of ABB’s key features is its incremental backup capability, using Changed Block Tracking (CBT). Rather than backing up the entire system every time, ABB identifies the data blocks that have changed since the last backup. This approach significantly reduces the backup time and the amount of data being transferred, which is a huge benefit, especially for businesses with limited bandwidth. Additionally, global deduplication comes into play, scanning all backup jobs to find and eliminate duplicate data. This means unique data blocks are stored, optimizing your NAS storage and reducing costs.
- Flexible Restoration Options
The true test of any backup solution is how well it handles recovery. ABB offers flexible restoration options, including bare-metal recovery for complete system restoration and granular recovery for individual files or folders. This flexibility is crucial in different scenarios, such as quickly getting a user’s files back or restoring a server after a hardware failure.
For businesses running virtualized environments, ABB’s instant restore feature allows you to boot up a backup as a virtual machine on VMware, Hyper-V, or Synology own Virtual Machine Manager. This minimizes downtime and keeps your services running while you troubleshoot the original issue.
-
Agentless Backup for Servers
Deploying backup agents across all your servers can be time-consuming and resource-intensive. ABB simplifies this with agentless backup support for file servers, using standard protocols like SMB and rsync. This means you can set up backups without installing additional software, reducing overhead and making the process more efficient.
-
Comprehensive Platform Support and Custom Scheduling
ABB is built to handle diverse environments, backing up physical servers, personal computers (Windows and macOS), and virtual machines on VMware and Hyper-V. You can configure backups for entire systems, specific volumes, or select folders depending on your needs. With customizable scheduling and retention policies, you can set backup tasks to run at specific times or based on user actions (e.g., at system shutdown) and adjust retention rules to manage storage while ensuring you have enough restore points.
-
Self-Service Recovery and Enhanced Security
A standout feature for IT admins is the self-service recovery portal. It empowers end-users to restore their files via a simple web-based interface, saving time and reducing support tickets. This is especially useful in large organizations where managing individual restore requests can be a burden.
On the security front, ABB ensures data protection with AES-256 encryption for backup data, safeguarding it from unauthorized access. Regular integrity checks confirm that your backups are complete and not corrupted, giving you peace of mind that your data is ready for restoration.
Conclusion
Ransomware is a serious threat, but a solid backup strategy can significantly reduce the risk. Synology comprehensive suite of backup tools provides the flexibility, security, and ease of use needed to protect your data effectively. Don’t wait until it’s too late. Start backing up your data today and shield your business from the devastating effects of ransomware.
Synology Active Backup for Business is more than just a backup tool; it’s a comprehensive data protection suite designed to simplify backup management, optimize storage, and enhance data security. Whether dealing with physical servers, personal computers, or a virtualized environment, ABB provides a robust, scalable solution that can adapt to your needs. For IT administrators looking to strengthen their backup strategy and protect against ransomware, ABB is a solid choice that integrates seamlessly into your existing Synology NAS ecosystem, ensuring business continuity and data resilience.
I plan to return to this subject, Synology Active Backup for Business, with a detailed explanation of how to implement it and how it works.
Share this article if you think it is worth sharing. If you have any questions or comments, comment here or contact me on Twitter.
Leave A Comment
You must be logged in to post a comment.