Ransomware attacks have become one of the most disruptive threats in today’s digital landscape, affecting organisations of all sizes and sectors. While reports indicate a decline in ransomware payments, dropping to approximately $813 million in 2024 — a 35% decrease from the previous year’s record of $1.25 billion, the number of reported ransomware incidents has hit an all-time high. Attackers target more victims, even if fewer give in to their demands.
The rise of Ransomware as a Service (RaaS) has made launching sophisticated attacks easier than ever. Cybercriminals can now purchase or lease ransomware tools, lowering the barrier to entry and dramatically increasing the frequency of attacks. Organisations must prepare to defend their data, not just their infrastructure.
What is recovery assurance?
Recovery assurance is the ability to confidently restore IT systems after a ransomware attack or data loss event. Traditional backup strategies often assume that hardware failure is the primary concern, meaning recovery focuses on reinstalling software and restoring backups. However, ransomware and other cyber threats invert the problem: your hardware is fine, but your software, applications and data can no longer be trusted. This shift highlights the difference between traditional disaster recovery (DR) and cyber recovery.
- Traditional DR assumes backups and software are intact, but infrastructure has failed.
- Cyber recovery assumes infrastructure is fine, but software and data are compromised.
Organisations must implement regular recovery testing to validate that backups aren’t compromised before they’re restored to ensure safe and trustworthy recovery. Doing so requires a dedicated, secure testing environment that ransomware cannot reach.
Incident response plans also play a crucial role in recovery assurance. A strong plan includes a well-trained Incident Response Team (IRT) skilled in penetration testing, forensic analysis and network security. Regular training ensures employees know how to identify and respond to threats, reducing human errors that can lead to infections.
What is RTO and RPO?
Two critical metrics define an organisation’s ability to recover from an attack: Recovery Time Objective (RTO) and Recovery Point Objective (RPO). RTO measures how quickly operations must be restored to prevent severe disruption, while RPO defines how much data loss is acceptable. Organisations must move beyond traditional backups and embrace solutions for modern cyber threats to achieve the lowest possible RTO and RPO.
How to safeguard valuable data
Data is an organisation’s most valuable asset, and cybercriminals know it. Whether it’s customer records, financial transactions or intellectual property, losing access to data can be catastrophic. Immutable data storage and Isolated Recovery Environments (IREs) provide a robust defence by ensuring data remains untouched, accessible and instantly recoverable.
What is immutable data storage?
Immutable storage is a game changer in ransomware defence because data cannot be modified, encrypted or deleted once written, even by administrators, protecting it from malicious attacks. Unlike traditional backups, which can be encrypted or erased by ransomware if attackers gain access, immutable data guarantees there’s always a clean, untampered copy available.
Instead of relying on nightly backups, which can leave organisations vulnerable to 24+ hours of data loss, immutable data solutions create multiple snapshots during the day. This approach allows organisations to restore data from a precise point before an attack, minimising disruption and reducing an organisation’s RPO to near zero.
What are isolated recovery environments (IREs)?
An IRE takes immutable data storage one step further by creating a secure, offline environment to test, validate and restore business-critical systems. This environment is separate from the primary network, ensuring ransomware cannot infect or corrupt recovery points.
Key features of IREs include:
- Unalterable data: Ensures backups cannot be encrypted, manipulated or erased
- Multiple copies for fast recovery: Reduce RTO by allowing businesses to restore systems rapidly using multiple recovery points
- Robust reporting and visibility: Provides insight into backup integrity and potential security risks, allowing IT teams to make informed decisions
One of the biggest mistakes organisations make is storing their incident response plan on internal systems, only to find it encrypted and inaccessible after an attack. A simple but effective solution is maintaining a “lockbox” copy of critical response documentation in a secure, offline location, such as an IRE. This ensures IT teams can access clear recovery instructions immediately without wasting time searching for missing files.
When time is critical, you need a fast solution
Ransomware recovery is a race against time. The longer systems remain locked, the greater the financial and operational impact will be. Whether it’s lost productivity, missed revenue or compliance fines, the consequences escalate quickly. A slow or uncertain recovery process is no longer an option.
An IRE provides the fastest and most secure way to restore operations. When combined with immutable storage, it delivers a clean, trustworthy recovery solution that can be deployed in minutes.
Combining forces
The technical advantages of immutable storage and IREs lead to significant business benefits:
- Minimised downtime: Faster recovery reduces operational disruption and financial losses
- Regulatory compliance: Supports data protection regulations like GDPR, PCI-DSS and ISO 27001
- Cyber resilience and business continuity: Ensures businesses can withstand and recover from attacks without lasting damage
- Cost savings: Eliminates the need to pay ransoms, reduces legal exposure and protects brand reputation
When combined, these solutions transform ransomware recovery from a reactive scramble to a proactive, well-structured strategy that guarantees business continuity. By investing in these technologies, businesses shift from hoping their backups will work to knowing their recovery strategy is bulletproof.
Modernising disaster recovery
Ransomware is no longer a question of if but when. As cyberattacks become more sophisticated and relentless, businesses must move beyond traditional disaster recovery approaches and adopt solutions explicitly designed for cyber resilience. Immutable data and IREs provide the strongest line of defence, ensuring your data remains untampered, your recovery process is tested and reliable and your downtime is minimised.
By implementing immutable storage, organisations can guarantee that their critical data remains untouched by ransomware, preventing attackers from holding data hostage. Pairing this with an IRE ensures recovery in a secure, air-gapped environment free from lingering risks of reinfection. Automated testing, forensic analysis and detailed reporting ensure that organisations can restore operations quickly and confidently when disaster strikes.
Traditional disaster recovery is no longer enough. Cyber threats have changed the game, and businesses need a modern, proactive recovery strategy that keeps them one step ahead of attackers. By integrating immutable data and IREs, organisations can eliminate uncertainty, take control of their recovery and ensure ransomware never dictates their future.
