Most people are aware that cyber risks exist, but the reality of how often a breach happens may not be something they’ve particularly thought about. According to figures from the Identity Theft Resource Center collated by Statista, the number of data breaches annually is booming.
It took more than 10 years for the number of data breaches in the US to go from 157 in 2005 to over 1,000, which it did in 2016. While it hovered around the 1,000 mark for the following four years, since 2020 there has been a rapid acceleration and in 2023 3,205 data breaches were reported.
These are sobering statistics, but they also match up with the seemingly relentless reports of cyber attacks that we see on an almost daily basis.
For a long time, it was common to focus only on prevention tactics – think building a moat around a fort to keep the enemy out. However, what this statistic shows is that it isn’t a matter of if an attack will happen, but rather when. That is why today’s security strategies demand a more holistic approach, one that prioritizes prevention and recovery efforts equally and involves IT ops and security teams working hand in hand.
The evolution of IT and Security roles
Traditionally, IT and security functions have been fairly separate and distinct, with the former managing an organization's infrastructure and ensuring that technology systems support operational efficiency and the latter focusing on security and reducing risk. However, both have evolved significantly in recent years due to the increasing importance of cybersecurity, technological advancements, and changing business needs.
Today, IT teams are also responsible for the reliability and security of their organization’s tech stack, whereas their security counterparts have taken on a greater role in shaping business strategy and aligning security initiatives with organizational goals. This overlap in roles has created an opportunity for the two to partner more closely and work together to improve their organization’s security posture. One common way to do this is by selecting new technologies.
Finding the right backup and recovery solution
As previously mentioned, a comprehensive cybersecurity strategy not only involves preparing for an attack, but also creating a plan for quickly restoring business operations afterwards. To achieve this, IT and security teams must partner to identify critical business systems and implement measures to safeguard them against potential threats. Investing in the right backup and recovery solution is foundational to this effort.
But what defines the "right" solution? While the specific requirements will vary by business, a key element to consider includes an integrated solution that combines backup, data protection, attack detection, and vulnerability scanning within a single platform.
A centralized management console is crucial for overseeing distributed backup functions across hybrid or multi-cloud environments. Security features such as multi-factor authentication and role-based access controls are important, along with capabilities for security information and event management (SIEM) and security orchestration, automation, and response (SOAR). Prioritizing integration and advanced security reporting and logging will further strengthen your defenses.
When evaluating enterprise backup and recovery software, you should expect features that protect critical data across SaaS and PaaS applications like Google Workspace and Microsoft 365, as well as services utilizing object storage and containers.
Additionally, look for enhanced recovery features like vendor-developed or third-party integrated anomaly and entropy detection, as well as malware and signature-based detection, which are essential for robust protection.
For the industry’s leading backup and recovery solutions, I&O leaders should look to Gartner and its Magic Quadrant for Enterprise Backup and Recovery Software Solutions. Here businesses will find innovative solutions and services from leading vendors.
This includes vendors such as Cohesity, which has been named a Leader in the Magic Quadrant for Enterprise Backup and Recovery Software Solutions for a fifth time.
The firm, which is known for helping customers quickly get back on their feet when restoring from backup, was recognized for its innovative approach, with Gartner noting it is the "first vendor to offer a GenAI-based solution powered by the backup data repository that provides a natural language, conversational solution to provide answers to business questions".
The report also highlighted Cohesity Marketplace, which offers a number of native and third-party applications that "leverage backup data for more value beyond restore operations" and its innovative approach to delivering new capabilities across data protection, security and management, and as-a-service delivery.
Cohesity’s premium backup offering is DataProtect, which is available for customer-managed deployment for both on-premises and cloud, as well as an ‘as a service’ offering. The service is critically acclaimed, with favorable reviews and positive user feedback.
The service runs on the Cohesity Data Cloud. It’s ideal for organizations interested in solving data silos and protection for a wide variety of traditional and modern data sources in on-prem and multi-cloud setups.
Cohesity DataProtect backs up and secures data to prevent loss and downtime in the event of a natural disaster, human error, or a serious ransomware attack. What’s more, enterprises can use Cohesity offline or as a cloud backup where they can derive greater insights from across their data portfolio while keeping their operational costs minimal.
While no organization wants to find itself in a position where it needs to restore from backups, having a backup-and-recovery system in place provides a safety net if the worst should happen and peace of mind if it doesn’t.
It also means organizations are far more likely to be compliant with data protection regulations. Finding a partner that can provide a solution that’s flexible, easy to use, and incorporates the latest innovations in technology is a key element of a successful backup-and-recovery strategy.
