There is a need for more visibility over security

Many companies are labouring under false assumptions about their safety after switching to the cloud – and the problem is exacerbated by prioritising cures rather than prevention.

Although the year is still only seven months old, there have been a large number of ransomware attacks, including a recent case involving managed service provider specialist Kaseya.

When nervous ransomware payers see their life flashing past them, it’s a one-way trip. But customers that have adopted early intervention techniques, such as a well-drilled disaster recovery, can look at monitors and see their data story, their company life history, travelling back the other way.

The channel needs to sell data protection and disaster recovery with more imagination and verve, according to Simon Chappell, founder of Assured Data Protection (ADP), which recently called for better “visibility” over cloud installations.

His starting point is to plan protection and recovery early, because being hit is almost inevitable. The best way to deter infection from the rats of ransomware is to remove their source of sustenance.

Every company should assume it will be taken down, but it is your recovery that makes the difference between life and death.

“Most companies have some sort provision for data protection,” said Chappell. “The immediate priority as the world faces a tidal wave of cyber attacks is to test the recovery. Test, test and test again.”

ADP focuses on companies whose existing legacy strategy is no longer fit for purpose. If appointed, it replaces that legacy with a fast and complete recovery in the event of an attack, it claims. It is now offering to run recovery testing for its customers, which is a crucial but under-discussed issue in the recovery business.

A few years ago, data protection was a low priority for an IT leader, but it has risen up the list thanks to the constant news of cyber attacks and ransomware assaults, said Chappell.

“We don’t detect too much complacency,” he added. “But there is some ambiguity: as workloads move to the cloud, there is an assumption that they are protected. They aren’t. As companies are having dual data locations, one on the premises and one on the cloud, it is essential to get data protection across both – ideally with ADP as provider.”

Trust is one of the most critical aspects of being a backup and recovery service provider, and ADP asks its customers to be its advocates. “As a blunt-speaking Yorkshireman, I try and insist that we do that in our ADP marketing,” said Chappell.