Buffalo’s Response to the White House Ransomware Memo

Recently, the White House issued an open letter urging business leaders to take active steps against the rising threat of ransomware. The letter addressed that ransomware is a serious threat to both the public and the private sector, and urges businesses to follow cybersecurity best practices in order to prioritize data security and protection, the top of which is a having a solid backup plan that includes offline backups.

As a market leader in providing secure network-attached storage (NAS) solutions, Buffalo remains vigilant in regard to cybersecurity trends and how much havoc ransomware can wreak to businesses of all sizes. We applaud the White House for recognizing ransomware as a significant threat to core businesses operations, and will continue our efforts in developing products that keep your and your customers’ data secure for your peace of mind.

In recent years, the rise of ransomware has become a significant data security threat to both home users and businesses alike. With the advent of sophisticated data security solutions, ransomware has likewise evolved to become even more sophisticated, and even the latest anti-malware software may not be able to pick up on ransomware signatures. A recent global poll by data security firm Sophos identified that 77 percent of organizations were running up-to-date endpoint solutions at the time of a ransomware attack.

While there is no bulletproof methodology in preventing ransomware, the White House correctly identifies that a comprehensive backup plan that includes an offline copy is one of the most effective ways to keep your data safe. We strongly advocate the tried-and-true 3-2-1 plan: have three copies of your data on two different backup locations, with one copy stored off-site. Even without the ever-looming threat of ransomware, backups should always figure into your business continuity and disaster recovery plans.

Offline Backups and Data Security

While many are aware that a backup strategy with multiple copies of your data is the only real way to protect yourself against malware, unfortunately few implement one until it is too late. According to the 2019 Global State of Cybersecurity in Small and Medium Businesses report, the two largest issues SMB face are not having the personnel to allay IT vulnerabilities and attacks, and insufficient budget to mitigate IT risks. And threat actors are well aware of this, as the rapidly escalating number of malware attacks carried out every year showcase how cybercriminals are expanding their attack surfaces.

Thus, a backup solution with strong encryption and kept isolated from your local computers is a paramount investment. Buffalo recommends a secure NAS device isolated from the rest of the network to be used as your dedicated backup location. A NAS can be set up to automatically sync your data with cloud services such as Dropbox or Amazon S3, and offers you the flexibility of a private cloud so you can back up critical data to a local device for easy access and restoration while moving nonessential data to an offsite location for safety. Moreover, some NAS devices offer security features such as snapshots, which can be a significant tool in your arsenal against ransomware.

Buffalo prides itself on offering the most secure NAS on the market. Most NAS devices allow third party apps to be installed via an app store, which is a common vector for malware, spyware, and other viruses. Our NAS devices run on closed systems—not even the system administrator has root rights—and only allow connections to available network services, which you can limit to the ones you choose by enabling/disabling them per LAN services. Buffalo NAS also offer both AES 256-bit disk encryption that prevents HDDs from being read when removed (even on another Buffalo NAS) and encrypted data transfers using an HTTPS connection as well as secure file transfer capabilities between networked hosts using SFTP. Our flagship TeraStation devices further provide a host of significant security features including snapshots so you can keep your data safe from ransomware.

No Silver Bullets, But Not Hopeless Either

As noted, there is no panacea against ransomware. Buffalo recommends consolidating multiple prevention and preparation practices into a comprehensive, multi-layer data security strategy. By combining active prevention (a detailed security plan) and active preparation (having a secure, isolated backup location for files), you can avoid being trapped in an unenviable position of having to whether perform a costly system restore or negotiating with criminals.

Skilled Buffalo team members, including our sales engineers, are able to readily assist with inquiries on designing an effective backup strategy. Contact Buffalo directly at 1-800-688-7466 to get started.

Responsible for many industry firsts and technology standards, Buffalo has four decades of networking and computer peripheral manufacturing and design experience. For more information about Buffalo Americas Inc. and its products, please visit http://www.BuffaloAmericas.com.