Summary of On-Demand Webinar:

Introduction

Cybersecurity threats are at an all-time high, and storage and backup systems have become prime targets for ransomware. This webinar explores four essential strategies to harden your environment, align with industry frameworks, and improve cyber resilience.

Real-World Attacks Driving Urgency

• UnitedHealth Ransomware Incident: Impacted over 100M individuals with an estimated $705M financial hit.

• Aikyram NAS Backup Attacks: Targeted backup infrastructure to cripple recovery options.

• Johnson Controls Breach: Another high-profile example of attackers focusing on backup systems.

Key takeaway: Storage and backup platforms are not just back-office systems anymore; they are a critical part of enterprise cyber defense.

Strategy 1: Define and Enforce Secure Configuration Baselines

A secure configuration baseline is a hardened set of security settings to minimize vulnerabilities and maintain a consistent posture.

Steps to Build a Baseline:

1. Research & Define for each storage/backup platform.

2. Collect & Analyze configurations to validate against the baseline.

3. Remediate Deviations and detect drift with ongoing scans.

4. Generate Audit-Ready Reports for internal and external compliance.

Frameworks like NIST SP 800-209, ISO 27040, and the new DORA regulation emphasize configuration baselines as a mandatory control.

Tip: Automate this process with tools like StorageGuard to maintain baselines across all Dell storage and backup systems.

Strategy 2: Secure & Isolate Backup Systems

94% of cyberattacks target backups, with 57% successfully compromising them.

Guidelines for Isolation:

• Use separate credentials for production and backup systems.

• Avoid Active Directory/Windows Domain for backup management to reduce lateral movement.

• Disable unused services, ports, and protocols.

• Segment backup networks from production.

• Maintain at least one air-gapped or offline backup copy.

Dell’s Cyber Recovery Vault provides logical/physical isolation and immutable copies across production, DR, and cyber recovery environments.

Strategy 3: Continuous Vulnerability Scanning

• Perform automated, authenticated scans of storage arrays, backup appliances, and management consoles.

• Ensure your scanning tool covers vendor-specific CVEs for Dell platforms and is updated regularly.

• Monitor end-of-support dates for storage/backup platforms to plan replacements proactively.

• Prioritize remediation using CVSS scores and exploit data.

Strategy 4: Align with Industry Standards & Prove Compliance

Key frameworks and guides:

• NIST SP 800-209 – Storage Security Guidelines

• ISO 27040 – Backup & Storage Security Controls

• CISA Ransomware Guidance – Practical mitigation steps

Map these standards to your baseline controls for instant compliance evidence during audits. StorageGuard automates this mapping and produces audit-ready reports.

Key Takeaways

1. Define and enforce baselines for every storage and backup platform.

2. Isolate and harden backup systems with zero trust and immutability.

3. Continuously scan and remediate vulnerabilities.

4. Align with NIST/ISO frameworks to simplify audits and prove compliance.