The rise of ransomware has highlighted the need for air-gapped backups, and data tapes have become the most popular tools for fighting back.

The United States Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) recommends offsite, offline backups as a ransomware mitigation strategy, noting that most ransomware infections cannot be resolved without restoring from a backup (or paying the ransom, which can exceed $1 million for high-value targets). Modern tape formats are an inexpensive and highly dependable way to create these backups, and many enterprises have quickly adopted current-generation formats like LTO-9 to build their disaster recovery strategies.

However, your enterprise cannot adequately prepare for ransomware infection by simply creating one-off backups. To build a strategy that works — and avoid costly remediation during an attack — it’s important to understand how tape backups address the problem. Here are a few considerations to keep in mind.

“Golden copy” backups are crucial for ransomware recovery.

A golden copy backup contains all of the essential information needed to restore a system following a ransomware attack or other data loss disaster. Data tapes are uniquely useful for creating golden copies; they’re inexpensive, and modern formats can be safely stored for decades without significant data loss.

If a backup is mission critical, it’s a mistake to keep a single copy — many enterprises maintain copies of each golden backup, archived for the express purpose of disaster recovery. Ensure that your enterprise’s strategy is suitable to your needs. If your storage systems change regularly, creating a monthly golden backup on tape can prevent enormous losses during remediation. However, if ransomware targets backup tapes, you may lose data for several months; make sure you’ve set appropriate retention periods for your golden copies.

Active tape archives can improve an enterprise’s ransomware remediation strategy, but it’s not foolproof.

An active tape archive is exactly what it sounds like: A storage architecture that maintains a current copy of mission-critical data from key storage systems. Recent advances in tape technology have improved the viability of active archiving; the LTFS filesystem, for instance, allows access to individual files on a tape or tape set, and modern tape systems are endlessly configurable to fulfill different archiving strategies.

In an active archive, the system moves data to different devices within the storage architecture based on rules; important data is moved to data tapes, which are regularly replaced to maintain a more-or-less “active” offsite backup of the entire system.

While this can be an excellent approach for some enterprises, active archives should be a component of a ransomware defense, not a standalone solution. Some ransomware variants target tapes, and malicious software may lie dormant for months before activation. If the archives aren’t retained for long enough, they may not be useful during disaster recovery. Additionally, if the ransomware is hidden in a backup, it may reactivate when the system is restored. Put simply, active archives are not traditional air-gapped backups — employ them carefully and understand their limitations.

Test your ransomware recovery strategy before you need it.

At Total Data Migration, we often encounter enterprises who followed the best practices of tape backup, with one key exception: They never tested their tape restoration strategy prior to the disaster.

A ransomware attack will draw tremendous time and energy from every member of your team, and even with appropriate backups, you’ll need a straightforward process in place to get key systems back up and running — without risking re-infection.

Test your strategy annually (or more often, if you’re in a high-risk industry). Ask questions like:

• Who will be responsible for restoring backups from tape?
• Does my team have experience with the tape format?
• Do we have sufficient hardware to restore data quickly?
• How can we mitigate the threat of ransomware re-infection?
• Do we regularly check backups to ensure that they’re usable?

We strongly recommend working with tape experts who have experience with ransomware remediation. As a leader in data tape migration and restoration services, we offer both onsite and off-site services to help enterprises minimize downtime — and limit the significant costs associated with a ransomware attack. To build your strategy or to discuss tape restoration services following a disaster, contact us today.

Fujifilm has announced its first data tape cartridge using the specifications of the Linear Tape Open (LTO) Ultrium 9 specifications. LTO-9 tapes offer a 50% improved capacity over the previous generation (LTO-8) with enhanced access speeds of up to 900 megabytes per second (MB/s).

Crucially, LTO-9 is fully backward-compatible with the previous generation. Backwards compatibility is one of the primary marketing points of the LTO format: Enterprises can use LTO-8 tapes in LTO-9 drives, just as they could read LTO-7 tapes with LTO-8 hardware.

At Total Data Migration, we offer a comprehensive set of archiving and backup services including magnetic tape migration, conversion, and restoration. We’re excited about the capabilities of the LTO-9 format, and we’re ready to help your organization take full advantage of the benefits.

If your enterprise is considering an upgrade to LTO-9, it’s helpful to understand the capabilities — and limitations — of backwards-compatibility.

Data tape restoration can be challenging, particularly when the data is pertinent to a legal action. That’s true for both archival data migration projects (backups retained by a law firm to comply with court orders and/or regulatory requirements) and tape restoration projects.

At Total Data Migration, we work frequently with law firms and electronic discovery services. In this blog, we’ll address some simple questions that can make data tape services more manageable for legal professionals — by answering these questions, you can create an appropriate plan for data tape migration, duplication, or restoration.

Establish the goal of the project.

Defining the scope of your data tape project helps to prevent miscommunication. Most law firms will start with a simple goal: They need to access data on tape cartridges, and they need help to complete that process. By collecting a few more details and sharing them with your tape migration professionals, you’ll be able to establish a customized plan that addresses your needs.

What is preventing you from accessing data on the tape(s)?

Your data migration team will need to know why you’re unable to access the media in question. You may not have the necessary hardware to read the cartridges; you might also have a limited technical background, and you’re not sure how to restore backups. Similarly, you may not be familiar with different file formats. That’s important — if your team provides you with a full set of files, but you’re unable to open them, the files won’t be useful.

Provide clear detail about why you’re unable to access the tapes. This will help the migration team create useful deliverables.

Will you use the data as evidence in active or pending litigation?

For electronic data to be useful in litigation, you’ll need to be able to provide a chain of custody. That chain of custody should include anyone who handled the tapes, and that certainly includes your tape migration team.

Legal professionals must observe ethical and compliance considerations when handling data, so regardless of the nature of the data, communicate clearly with your tape services team. Tell them exactly why you need the files. That information will allow them to take appropriate steps.

What are your time constraints for data tape services?

In some instances, timeframes are important — in others, that’s not the case. As a general rule, high-priority services require more expertise, so if you need files by a certain date, put that information in writing. Make sure that your data tape partner understands timeframe requirements.

Will you need a report with details of the files on each data tape?

Reporting can make electronic discovery and archival migration easier, but it’s not always necessary. Inform your data tape partner if you will need this type of report. Consider asking for example reports to ensure that the information is useful.

Collect as much information as possible about the data cartridges.

While developing your goals, record any information that could be useful for establishing the scope of the project. You will not need a strong technology background to gather this info — you’ll simply need to ask several simple questions. For example:

What format are the data tapes?

Many tapes are clearly labeled. Write down the full name of the tape (for instance, “LTO-8″) before contacting a data migration company.

Common tape formats include LTO, DAT, DLT, and AIT, but dozens of other formats exist, and they’re rarely interchangeable. The data migration firm will need to have appropriate hardware available to read the tapes. Know how many tapes you’ll need to access (and if you’re looking for specific data, provide any other information that the team might be able to use to find the target files).

What backup software was used to create the tapes?

Features and capabilities can range considerably depending on the backup software. Some programs may use different types of compression and encryption; certain programs only work on certain operating systems.

Your data tape service will need experience with the software used to create the backups. They will also need a license to use the software — this can be difficult to acquire for some legacy programs.

How many tapes will need evaluation?

Write down the number of tapes that may require evaluation. Find out whether they’re expected to be independent — in other words, each tape has a complete set of data — or groups. If the tapes are grouped, determine whether you can identify the tapes that make up each complete set of data.

This step can be especially important, because in a set of data cartridges, a single file may “span” across two or more tapes. The cartridge order needs to be maintained in order to access the file.

Are the data tapes encrypted?

Encryption is crucial for security, but it can also present challenges during migration and data retrieval services. If you’re accessing tapes from your own archives, you should be able to find information about the encryption techniques used during backups; if you’re accessing data tapes on behalf of a client, however, getting information about encryption may be more difficult.

Nevertheless, try to determine the method of encryption and request any necessary keys/passwords during discovery. Few modern encryption technologies can be easily overridden — but in many states, organizations are required to retain electronically stored information that is reasonably understood to be relevant to the action.

Consider how you’ll receive deliverables.

After defining the scope of the project and collecting basic information about the data tapes, take a moment to think about deliverables. Few law firms have the resources to read any type of data in any type of format — you’ll expect your data tape partner to provide everything you need within a reasonable timeframe, but they’ll need some basic guidance.

Do you need all of the data, or just a subset of data?

If you’re looking for specific file types (for instance, emails or accounting data), you may not need to restore 100% of the data from every single archive. Restricting your search can allow for more efficient delivery — and cut out a significant amount of work when you’re actually ready to access the files.

Determine which files (or file types) If you’re restricting the search to a certain set of dates, make sure to provide that information to your data tape services team.

What operating system do you want to use to access the data?

This is an important consideration because some types of archival data cannot be accessed natively in certain operating systems. Your tape services team should be able to help, either by converting the files (addressed in detail below) or by providing guidance for using third-party applications to securely access the data.

Will you need files converted to specific formats?

By default, data tape services will provide files in their original format. However, an experienced firm can perform conversions when necessary, which limits the law firm’s workload.

Formats are an important consideration for law firms, particularly when working with emails and databases. Ideally, the data should arrive in a format you’re comfortable with — for example, that might mean converting Exchange .EDB files to .PSTs. Likewise, consider how you’ll accept the data; encrypted flash or USB drives may be preferable, but some firms prefer to receive files on types of physical media (for instance, encrypted hard drives or optical discs) or via secure online portals.

Work with an established data tape migration firm.

By asking the questions above, legal professionals can ensure efficient access to data. If you’re unable to find certain information (for instance, you’re not sure whether you can open a certain email format or you don’t have details about encryption methods), communicate with clients or request information via discovery. Your tape migration team should be able to provide assistance as the project takes shape.

Regardless of your goals, make sure you’re working with experienced professionals. Total Data Migration has an established track record, and our experts can help you address the ethical duties and procedural requirements of working with legally actionable data. To discuss your project, send us an email or call (800) 460-7599.

Protecting sensitive data isn’t always easy. Shredding is one of the most popular methods of data sanitization for tape cartridges, and on its surface, it seems like an appropriate choice — it’s inexpensive, easy, and provides visual evidence of the destruction attempt.

Unlike other techniques like degaussing (which has other potential issues that we address in this article), shredding is mostly automatic. Many IT departments assume that the process is straightforward; if employees can feed the tapes into the shredding device and document their work, they can handle the task, right?

Not quite. Unfortunately, shredding has significant limitations, and we believe that the process is not an effective choice. In fact, media shredders have always presented significant risks, but those risks have become more substantial with the introduction of new high-density formats.

Our team specializes in data cartridge disposal. In this article, we’ll address a few considerations that prevent shredders from serving as a secure method of sanitization, and we’ll also provide an alternative.

Shredding data tapes isn’t appropriately secure.

According to the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST)’s 800-88 guidelines, the most widely used data sanitization standards, shredding is an approved method of destruction for data tapes. However, the results must be appropriately secure. That’s a significant caveat. Per NIST:

The shred size of the refuse should be small enough that there is reasonable assurance in proportion to the data confidentiality that the data cannot be reconstructed.

Media shredders are designed to annihilate hard drives, optical disks, and (of course) paper, but a number of engineering challenges prevent commercial shredders from handling data tapes effectively. Put simply, tape is a flexible, thin material — shredders simply aren’t designed to destroy it, and even high-end shredders may leave pieces of tape untouched. Malicious actors could find ways to use those strips of tape to reconstruct data, creating a potential vector of attack.

This isn’t a theoretical issue. Our team performed a 6mm shred of a set of LTO tapes; while the shredder apparently handled the job, we were able to recover tape pieces of over 130mm. Those pieces held a substantial amount of recoverable data.

Shredding tape makes data recovery difficult, but not impossible.

So, how much data is too much? That’s a difficult question to answer, which is why NIST uses the language “reasonable assurance in proportion to the data confidentiality.” A single megabyte of data could create a vulnerability. That’s why most organizations have protocols in place to prevent personnel from bringing in USB drives to transfer data. The USB drives could be compromised, and a worker could unintentionally transfer protected information outside of the organization’s control.

With that in mind, data sanitization provides “reasonable assurance” when the organization can virtually guarantee that all usable data — everything from a customer’s payment info to ERP login credentials — has been totally eliminated. Pieces of a shredded data cartridge simply don’t meet this threshold.

On an LTO-8 cartridge, a 10-cm piece of tape contains about 3 gigabytes of data. That format has over 6,600 tracks, which means that malicious actors would have more than 6,600 chances to access 4 megabytes of data (or more) on the recovered tape strip.

And while the threat is more significant for formats with a high data density, all commonly used tape formats (including legacy formats like DLT) can store a tremendous amount of sensitive information in a small area. Some formats don’t encrypt data by default; a bad actor would simply need to read the data from the tape fragment.

Shredding can also leave CM chips untouched.

LTO and 359x tapes use a cartridge memory (CM) chip to track end-of-data location data and to create a record of each cartridge’s usage. Every time data is written to an LTO cartridge, the CM chip keeps notes — and on LTO-8 tapes, the CM chip can store up to 16 kilobytes of data[1] . That can include “real” data, and in theory, a CM chip could be used as the basis for an attack.

Currently, the risks of an attack via CM chip are remote, but as we’ve seen in recent months, malicious actors are creative and resourceful. Shredders are not equipped to destroy CM chips, and they often leave them untouched. An LTO-CM is about 20mm long, 10mm wide, and less than 1mm in width.

In our tests, we found that CM chips were almost inevitably intact after passing through commercial hard drive shredders. Of course, that’s not the fault of the shredder manufacturers — the devices simply aren’t designed to handle tape cartridges.

Enterprises must still use proper methods to dispose of shredded data tapes.

We’ve discussed the security issues presented by shredders, but to this point, we’ve ignored a major practical problem: Shredded tapes still need proper disposal. That means sending them to a landfill — which isn’t appropriate, since fragments of the shredded tapes are a potential attack vector — or incinerating them.

Incineration is a secure way to destroy data, but if an enterprise is going to incinerate tapes, why spend time and money shredding them? For larger projects, incineration is expensive and introduces environmental considerations, and personnel must keep track of all fragments of the shredded tapes until they’re eliminated. They must also ensure that no pieces of tape are caught in the shredder, and organizations must track the chain of custody for the tapes (and fragments) up to the point of incineration.

Shredding tape cartridges seems simple and straightforward, but it’s an outdated technique. Shredders simply aren’t capable of providing total assurance of data destruction, and other methods — like proper degaussing — should be employed before the physical media is recycled or destroyed.

If your enterprise needs to dispose of tapes, migrate older archives to a new format, or create protocols for data sanitization, Total Data Migration can help. Call us today at (800) 460-7599 to find solutions for your next data destruction project.

 

Backwards compatibility can be extraordinarily helpful for organizations with large tape libraries. Linear Tape Open (LTO) drives can read and write tapes from the previous generation (for instance, an LTO-8 drive can use LTO-7) tapes. Prior to the 8th generation, LTO drives could also read tapes from two generations back (for instance, LTO-7 drives could read LTO-5 tapes, but not write to them).

This is one of the major benefits of the LTO format, and some other tape formats like DAT and DLT had similar backwards compatibility. However, relying on obsolete media creates some risks.

In most circumstances, we recommend migrating to current generation formats as quickly as possible. Of course, tape migration is a major process with significant expenses. Your organization may not be able to feasibly migrate every single archive — which is exactly what makes backwards compatibility valuable.

Here’s the good news: Tape migration is not necessary for non-mission-critical backups, though it’s still the best practice. We recommend evaluating your archives to determine whether older formats pose any hazards to your long-term disaster recovery strategy.

What are the risks of using several different data tape cartridge formats?

If tapes are not fully compatible with your hardware, you’ll need legacy hardware to read them. Obsolete tape drives can be expensive; at Total Data Migration, we maintain an extensive library of legacy drives. Functional legacy hardware can be difficult to source, and adding a new device into an IT system — even on an temporary basis — requires capital & time investment.

By definition, backwards-compatible formats eliminate this issue. However, they still present several problems at scale:

● Whether you’re storing data onsite or offsite, maintaining legacy tapes and tape drives can be expensive. Storing historical data in multiple formats adds to this expense.

● Archives need to be checked regularly, and their contents can become obsolete over time. If your operation upgrades its backup software, for instance, you’ll need to migrate the older tapes when you need to access them, regardless of the quality of the physical media.

● Accessing older formats can be time consuming. The LTO-6 format, for example, has a maximum compressed speed of 400 megabytes per second (MB/s). LTO-8 tapes have a maximum compressed speed of 900 MB/s, and tape drives are usually limited to the native data rate of the media.

Migrating to current-generation formats can significantly speed up access times when archives need to be read. For larger projects, the time savings can be significant.

With larger archives, all of these issues become more resource intensive. By migrating older tapes to the latest format, your organization can simplify its IT infrastructure significantly.

How can I determine whether tape migration is necessary?

You’ll need to evaluate your current expenses and have discussions with your IT staff to decide whether to migrate backwards-compatible tapes to a newer format. Generally, if you’re already planning a tape migration project, you should try to switch all of your historical media to a single format.

For instance, let’s say your organization archives mission-critical data on modern LTO-8 cartridges, but maintains a long-term archive of emails with legacy formats like LTO-6 and DLT. The DLT tapes are an obvious target for data migration — while some enterprises still use DLTs, the format is obsolete, so you decide to migrate those tapes to LTO-8.

However, the best practice would be to also migrate the LTO-6 cartridges, despite their compatibility with LTO-8 hardware. The older tapes may use file formats that are unsupported in your current system, and converting them would ensure seamless access (and for some medical & legal applications, migrating all tapes could help with conformance with retainment requirements).

Total Data Migration offers an extensive set of solutions for any migration project. Our experts can evaluate your current media practices and help you determine whether migrating older tapes will provide a decent return on cost. We can also convert older files or assist you in switching to new backup software.

For a free consultation, visit our contact page or give us a call at (800) 460-7599.

Proper media sanitization is an important component of a well-rounded archival strategy. However, it’s not necessarily straightforward. Degaussing tapes can leave data intact, and shredding data tapes with commercial equipment isn’t a secure solution.

Tape incineration is a much safer method. It’s approved by the Department of Defense and the National Security Agency, and it eliminates any chance of data recovery by eradicating both the tape and its cartridge memory (CM) chip. However, tape incineration has several major issues at scale.

When setting up a secure data destruction plan for your enterprise, you’ll need to consider these problems. Here’s what you need to know before sending tape cartridges to the incinerator.

Tape incineration can be expensive for larger projects.

Incineration operators are often limited to handling a certain amount of data storage media per day, since incinerating magnetic tape can have ecological ramifications (discussed in greater detail below). A large tape incineration project can take time, which can lead to larger-than-expected expenses.

Longer media sanitization processes also create security vulnerabilities. The longer that the tapes sit in a queue, the greater the chances of a compromised chain of custody. Some services offer extensive chain of custody reports and records to verify security, but this level of oversight also adds to the cost.

Tape incineration carries significant environmental concerns.

All organizations have a responsibility to use eco-friendly waste disposal methods wherever possible, and incineration cannot be “green.” Incineration of electronic waste releases toxic substances that can pose threats to human health and contaminate soil, air, and water.

E-waste is a growing concern, and the electronic and magnetic components of tapes can produce pollutants like lead, cadmium, and mercury. Plastic incineration generates dioxins and furans, both of which are carcinogenic. According to the EPA, dioxins can also interfere with hormones and cause reproductive and developmental problems.

Because of these environmental concerns, many states have strict laws controlling the incineration of electronics. Even when incineration is cost effective, enterprises are limited by laws and regulations — in other words, incineration is rarely the best choice.

For cost-effective data tape sanitization, use the right approach.

Your company’s tape disposal methods should be secure, affordable, and environmentally friendly. Incineration is secure when performed correctly by a company with substantial experience, but it’s often much more expensive than anticipated. The environmental effects of incineration are considerable, and at scale, tape incineration is impractical for numerous reasons.

Of course, other sanitization methods have their own problems. To manage your enterprise’s tape archives, look for a partner with significant logistical experience. Tape disposal requires a working knowledge of both modern and legacy cartridge formats, and providers should be able to supply evidence that the process was handled correctly.

Total Data Migration offers options for organizations of all sizes. Some of the benefits of our tape disposal methods:

● Secure degaussing performed by experienced operators. We verify erasure, including on cartridge memory chips left untouched by degaussing equipment.

● A comprehensive chain of custody. By maintaining a chain of custody, we provide assurance that your tapes will remain secure throughout the disposal process.

● Tape migration solutions. Many enterprises need to dispose of tapes when migrating to newer formats. Total Data Migration can help your operation manage both migration and disposal, simplifying the project substantially.

● Environmentally friendly tape eradication. Instead of incinerating tapes, we use alternative methods that limit the environmental impact of disposal.

If you need a secure media disposal solution backed by decades of experience, our team is ready to help. To schedule a free consultation, contact us today via email or call (800) 460-7599.

Enterprises build data archives for a variety of reasons, but whether your business aims to keep long-term copies of historical data or comply with retainment obligations, your archives are only useful if they’re accessible. Older data tape formats can create issues here — many tape formats aren’t easily indexable, and without near-perfect recordkeeping, an enterprise may need to load and review data from hundreds of tapes in order to find required files.

Of course, data tapes offer the lowest cost-per-gigabyte and longest storage lifespan of any physical storage media. They’re clearly the best choice for data archives, but the benefits of tape storage can quickly erode when your enterprise needs to devote manpower and other resources to restoration.

Fortunately, many modern data tape formats like LTO-8 can be configured for indexing and easy searching. Even if your enterprise uses a legacy tape format, you have options to make your archives accessible — but ideally, you’ll build your archival strategy before you actually need to locate and restore files.

Total Data Migration can help your enterprise migrate legacy formats to indexable alternatives, dramatically limiting the long-term cost of your archives. To get started, contact us for a free consultation or read on to learn about the features of current-gen data tapes.

Modern data tape formats can be used to create indexable archives.

Data tape manufacturers are certainly aware of the need for searchable archives, and they’ve responded to that need by implementing novel features.

Recent versions of Linear Tape Open (LTO) format standard, including LTO-8, may use Linear Tape File System (LTFS), which supports partitioning for an index. This partition allows the tape drive to find the precise location of individual files, greatly reducing the cost of restoration. IBM’s TS1160 tape drives and media are also compatible with LTFS.

LTFS can allow for faster data access times when files need to be extracted from archives — including during ediscovery operations — but enterprises should still maintain a separate index. Otherwise, personnel will still find themselves searching through years of tapes to find the target data. A qualified data migration partner can make this initial index much easier and more affordable.

Legacy tapes should be migrated to current generation as soon as possible.

Many enterprises still rely on legacy media like AIT/SAIT, DLT, DDS, and even reel-to-reel formats. Migrating tapes requires a significant investment, and businesses may simply allocate those funds to other projects — after all, the data is safely stored in archives. Why spend money to migrate tapes to current-generation formats?

Again, any cost savings can disappear immediately when files need to be accessed. Your enterprise may need to source hardware to access tapes at scale, and finding specific files can be frustrating — and expensive — when the data set is relatively large. Additionally, if you’ve upgraded your data backup software or changed other components of your IT infrastructure, the legacy data may need to be converted. Here are a few tips for managing costs.

Assess your data archives at least once per year.

Consider whether data restoration will be feasible, and when necessary, migrate tapes to newer formats. Test your current archive infrastructure by asking questions; could you easily locate all of the files of a certain type, or find files from a specific date range? What resources would you need to allocate for an ediscovery request?

Make sure you’re prepared to restore archives to an isolated environment.

This is important in ediscovery requests, but isolated systems also ensure security in other applications. Many enterprises do not plan for isolated data restoration, which create significant vulnerabilities when a request arises.

Pay attention to data usability.

Searchability is a key consideration in any archival strategy. Fortunately, modern tape formats provide drag-and-drop file restoration comparable to hard drives, flash drives, and other consumer media. However, to take advantage of these new technologies, you’ll need to migrate tapes to LTO-8, LTO-9, TS1160, or another modern tape format as early as possible.

A tape migration partner can help migrate archives to newer formats while building robust indexes of each tape library and cartridge. Total Data Migration can help your organization make the switch to LTFS, or if you prefer working with a legacy format, we can provide detailed indexes to make data restoration easier and less expensive in the future.

As leaders in data tape restoration and migration, we maintain an extensive library of tape drives, and our experts can build a migration plan that works with your business’s unique needs. Contact us via email or call (800) 460-7599 to get started.

The recent ransomware attack on Colonial Pipeline led to significant downtime for crucial American fuel infrastructure — and a $4.4 million payment to the bad actors behind the attack. Unfortunately, the event was not isolated, and ransomware is expected to pose a significant threat in 2021.

In a survey conducted by cybersecurity firm Sophos, 37 percent of IT decision makers said that their organizations were hit by ransomware in the last year. The average bill for ransomware response was around $1.85 million, including costs associated with downtime, training, and network rectification. Many victims were forced to pay the ransoms, which averaged over $100,000 for mid-sized businesses.

Generally, ransomware works by encrypting the victim’s files, then presenting a message demanding payment for the decryption key. Corporate ransomware attacks are becoming more common, as corporations are more likely to pay the hefty sums demanded by cybercriminals. Some attackers also attempt to access data to extort the end user, and as ransomware has become more profitable, criminals have used more sophisticated techniques to compromise their targets.

Vigilant security practices can decrease the risk of infection, but given the large number of vectors used by modern ransomware, perfect protection isn’t feasible. For many companies, the best solution is data backup — and data cartridges are an excellent resource for building a sound strategy.

How Data Tapes Protect Against Ransomware and Other Threats

Cloud storage has gained popularity over the last decade, but the recent ransomware attacks show some of the vulnerabilities of internet-based technologies. Even with consistent backups, cloud systems are susceptible to malware. This is mostly unavoidable; any system connected to the internet can be attacked, and many ransomware variants are written to target on-network backups when encrypting endpoint data.

To provide adequate protection from malicious attackers, a data backup method must be able to be disconnected from its parent network. Backup professionals refer to this feature as an “air gap.” Of course, data tapes are disconnected from the network after they’re written, and they can be duplicated easily to maintain several copies of an important backup.

Data tape cartridges have a much lower cost-per-gigabyte than hard drives or other forms of magnetic storage. Modern LTO-8 tapes can hold upwards of 30 terabytes, and their small physical footprint allows for easy storage. They’re durable, reliable, and scalable — and modern technologies allow for fast read/write speeds with extremely low bit error rates. Tape cartridges use fewer resources than other backup methods, and when properly employed, they can safeguard important systems and ensure a low time-to-recovery.

Ransomware Considerations: Forming a Better Data Backup Strategy

Of course, no form of data storage is completely immune to ransomware. Cybercriminals understand that many enterprise-level businesses take steps to safeguard their data, and they’re certainly aware of air-gapping. To ensure an adequate response to ransomware infection, businesses should keep these tips in mind:

• Keep archives of important backups. Ransomware can exist on a computer network for months before causing damage. That’s by design — cybercriminals want to ensure that backups are no longer useful or relevant.

Enterprises should keep “golden copies” of mission-critical systems, ensuring that those systems can be restored during an attack. Even if the data is outdated, restoring the system to a certain point in time may be preferable to paying a ransom.

• Keep at least three copies of mission-critical data. Redundant backups provide resiliency in a disaster. Enterprises should maintain three copies of important backups at the absolute minimum, and at least one of those copies should be stored offsite.
• Check backups regularly. Verification is crucial — if a backup has not been verified, assume it is not usable. Modern data cartridges are designed for 15 to 30 years of archival storage, but they should be checked periodically.

While excellent network security is essential for preventing cybercrime, a robust backup strategy is an enterprise’s last line of defense. Total Data Migration can provide the expertise your organization needs to execute that strategy.

From cartridge migration to restoration, our team is ready to help. Contact us with questions or to schedule a consultation.

Insurgo and Total Data Migration (TDM) are proud to announce their partnership for tape media recycling, as TDM now utilizes the revolutionary and uniquely patented data tape erasure technology KIT® (Kills Information on Tape) and SWAT® (Securely Wipes all Tracks) created and offered by Insurgo.

As the producer of this unique patented data erasure technology, Insurgo developed KIT® following many years of research and development with the knowledge of capacity explosion on tape, an understanding of the increasing data protection regulations, and the environmental impacts of disposing of tape media safely in the current period.

Today, we are seeing more stringent privacy laws around personal data, combined with the environmental initiatives to reduce plastics and their usage, and TDM have recognized these needs and have looked to get ahead of the market with Insurgo’s unique and innovative technology.

The data erasure technology works by running the entire length of a tape over the non-wearing, patented magnetic head, removing all traces of data. Once erased, the process allows for tapes to be re-used without any incineration or landfill required, and helps reduce organizational carbon footprints and physical data waste.

The SWAT® technology works in exactly the same way, but using an adapted magnetic head which renders the tapes completely unusable! Both systems uniquely update the cartridge CM chip, to prove they have undergone the full process and wipe details that could be left behind by traditional methods of disposal currently used today.

With Total Data Migration being a provider of tape restoration and other data services, this partnership compliments and adds to the TDM service offering, giving our customers complete transparency, support and confidence that when it comes to disposing of sensitive data on tape, it will be done at only the highest level and with the most efficacy possible.

CEO of Total Data Migration Steve Johnson understands the innovative nature of these offerings:

“TDM partnered with Insurgo Media to bring a revolutionary, state of the art, and what should become the industry standard solution for tape media destruction and recertification with KIT and SWAT systems.”

And Ian Bartlett of Insurgo knows that TDM can find the best way to utilize their innovative products:

“Expanding our product portfolio to the USA was always a key goal for the Insurgo Group. This trusted partnership is a great way for us to achieve our strategy of becoming the global leaders in the tape disposal arena. We can rely on Steve and his team to promote the improved best practices with the Insurgo equipment and mirror our services when it comes to disposing of sensitive data on tape in the USA.”

With this reciprocal and ground-breaking partnership, TDM and Insurgo feel confident in the quality of data services they can continue to provide for their clients, as well as their ability to provide these services for the future. Get started with Total Data Migration, and contact us today to learn more.

Total Data Migration is the foremost expert in magnetic tape processing within litigation & eDiscovery, supporting more tape types and formats, a larger combination of email, data and voice formats and providing a wider range of global delivery options. For our partners, handling jobs for their clients allows us to offer the best-of-breed tape solutions alongside your specialist’ skills elevating the service you provide.

Key differentiators:

• TDM’s proprietary platform, developed and enhanced over the past 20+ years, provides tape restoration capabilities to support over 3,500 combinations of backup tape media, formats and environments
• TDM’s restoration tools are ‘purpose-built’ and can be fully automated to fit any client’s needs
• TDM has experienced resources and identified industry experts in the US and UK
• TDM has performed its services onsite in 6 continents and over 33 countries