The popularity of ransomware like WannaCry and Petya has encouraged cybercriminals to develop prepackaged malware to sell on the black market. This means more ransomware attacks will hit unprepared targets in the years to come. To protect your business, you need virtualized disaster recovery (DR) solutions.
Virtual DR
Virtual DR solutions allow you to create point-in-time copies or “snapshots” of operating systems, data, and virtual machines as they appear at a given point in time. These snapshots can then be loaded onto any workstation with everything still intact. In the event of a ransomware attack, administrators can essentially roll back the system to a point before the malware struck.
What’s great about point-in-time copy features is that they are automated. Just schedule the snapshots and your virtual DR software will do the rest. Although virtual DR solutions vary, most of them have the capacity to store thousands of point-in-time copies, giving you plenty of restore points to choose from.
Why virtual DR trumps traditional DR
Most traditional DR methods don’t have point-in-time copy features. Even though most computers have a system restore functionality, they can be disabled by newer ransomware strains. On the other hand, virtual DR software isolates point-in-time copies and restores functionality from virtual machines. This means they can’t be affected if one virtual machine was compromised with ransomware.
Another reason why traditional DR is not as good of an option is that there is more tedious configuration involved. You have to copy all your data onto a backup drive, reinstall applications, and reconfigure hardware. By the time you’ve recovered from the ransomware attack, the financial and reputational damage caused by downtime will have taken its toll on your business.
When recovering your system, you want as little hassle as possible. With virtual DR, you can load a clean, ransomware-free snapshot onto your system in less than an hour.
However, implementing virtual DR can be complex, especially if you’re not experienced. But if you partner with us, this won’t be a problem. Call us today to get robust solutions that guarantee business continuity.