August 2023

The fine line between backup and data protection

Perception equals reality, and then reality changes…

When I revisit the initial prospecting conversations we have had with potential customers and partners 8 to 10 years ago and then juxtapose these conversations to our current day engagements, I can clearly see the shift in terms of how we are now perceived to be a data-protection-as-a-service provider albeit that backup, storage and business continuity is what we provide, and have been providing for 20 years running. Today, obviously all these as-a-service

But the reality in which we participate has certainly seen major shifts as far goes how companies and organizations are prioritizing data protection, and with that the management of their critical data. Today that critical data most certainly encompasses their backup data, which in case of a major breach is the last line of defense safeguarding continuity – and maybe even survival.

From the period of early awareness of data protection some 12-14 years ago to the rise of cyber-attacks, the GDPR and regulations acceleration to the privacy concerns, and then remote work challenges taking us to the AI/ML/Automation phase.

Reality certainly has changed. And we have changed with it.

The harsh new normal…

Hardly one week goes by without multiple cyber-attacks being published in either the general news media, or several types of trade media. And, when relying on continuous and diligent reporting from the leading cybersecurity analysts, it is easy to put ransomware attacks, phishing campaigns, zero-day exploits, supply chain attacks, and insider threats among the frequent types of attacks being perpetrated on companies and organizations alike.

Adding to this malaise is the accelerating trend that backup data environments increasingly are being targeted obviously for the distinct purpose of denying a compromised party the opportunity to restore operations as quickly as possible.

Data protection is not a feature…

As companies and organizations continuously strive to innovate, perform, and compete they will expand their leverage of as-a-service capabilities and capacity while also benefitting from transitioning CAPEX to OPEX and thus harmonize operating expenses to their distinct business model and mode of operation. This in turn demands an understanding and appreciation of the fine line in between managing backup and data protection to be able to maintain organizational resilience while at the same time hardening the defense against potential threats leveled against backup data environments.

At B4Restore, we are continuously observing the commercial and operational transitions to make sure that our offerings always match demand, but we also do so to preempt otherwise disruptive changes in both consumption of services patterns and preferred economic models.

We launched the first iteration of our backup-as-a-service in 2010. Since then, we have been monitoring developments (use cases, features, preferences, propensities, blind spots, threat profiles etc.) in the internal and external environments for both our customers and partners relative to their backup data environments.

These accumulating insights continuously serve as a guiding light for our Engineering and Operations teams enabling us to offer a dynamic backup, storage and business continuity blueprint for customers and partners to fortify their organizations against the ever accelerating and expanding threat landscape impacting their backup data environments.

Talk the talk and then, walk the walk…

The convergence of backup and data protection fuels our posture as a data protection as-a-service provider as the threat landscape illustrates the symbiotic relationship in-between managing backup and fortifying data protection.

Our point of view is that one out of several critical aspects of data protection is how you manage your backup routine – and how you manage your backup data environment. And further, our approach, and guidance to prospective customers and partners, when asked, is for them not to exclusively hone in on technology, capability, and capacity but rather on people, protocol, and discipline.

At B4Restore, we are continuously embracing advanced technologies, leveraging AI/ML to maximize automation and self-service options, investing in human expertise, establishing robust protocols, and fostering a disciplined cybersecurity culture, such that we can help our customers and partners navigate the intricate web of their backup data management and data protection challenges.

The evidence is demonstrated every day by our supporting technology stack including our cloud-native service orchestration platform hosted in our T3 data centers delivering our purpose-built ISO-certified and ISAE assured services. And, with more than 70,000,000 (and counting) backup jobs executed annually – we do guarantee that our services are indeed enterprise-grade.

As a further derivative of the convergence, we decided in 2011 to solve the people, protocol, and discipline conundrum through delivering our services governed by our uncompromising separation-of-duties governance framework.

“You cannot make an omelet without breaking eggs.” (Robert Louis Stevenson (1897))

Our uncompromising separation-of-duties governance framework secures that:

Your IT staff only has access to your IT production environment (not to the backup data environment).
No administrative credentials whatsoever are shared in between your IT production environment and the backup data environment.
The IT production environment and the backup data environment are never situated at the same physical location.

Our experience is straightforward; if the above cannot be secured then exposures might be present.

Such an uncompromising separation-of-duties governance framework is neither a trivial undertaking to establish nor is it to maintain. Consequently, we advocate that a more prudent approach is to evaluate transitioning to Data Protection as-a-Service from a partner capable of documenting credentials ensuring that neither your business-critical information & data nor your business will be compromised via corrupting your backup data.

In the ever-evolving landscape of cyber threats, safeguarding backup data environments is paramount.