Summary of the On-Demand Webinar:

Introduction

Welcome to this webinar on automating storage and backup compliance. Today, we’ll explore:

• The growing impact of ransomware on backup systems

• Why backup compliance is complex but essential

• How automation accelerates compliance and risk reduction

• Practical tips using industry frameworks like NIST and ISO

The Rising Threat to Backup Systems

Ransomware attackers are now targeting backup environments first. Why?

1. Force payment: By destroying or encrypting backups, they leave no recovery option.

2. Exploit cloud copies: Remote/cloud backups are often less protected and outside traditional detection layers.

Veeam’s 2023 Data Protection Trends report shows:

• 39% of production data on average is encrypted or destroyed during attacks.

• Nearly 25% of organizations lose over 60% of their data.

• 45% of affected data is unrecoverable due to compromised backups.

Compliance Pressure is Growing

• Regulatory Mandates: U.S. Executive Order (2021), EU Cybersecurity Act, ISO 27001 updates, and the upcoming ISO 27040 revision now emphasize backup resiliency.

• Insurance Requirements: Cyber insurers demand proof of:

  • Regular DR testing

  • Backup security controls (e.g., MFA on backup consoles)

  • Documented RPO/RTO validation

Why Backup Compliance is Harder Than Other IT Areas

1. Knowledge Gap:

   • InfoSec teams often “throw it over the fence” to IT Infrastructure.

   • Backup teams lack deep security expertise.

   • Result: Misaligned ownership and poor visibility.

2. Complex Attack Surface:

   • Multiple entry points: OS, APIs, storage arrays, snapshots, clients, supply chain.

3. Operational Burden:

   • Proving compliance quickly to auditors, regulators, or customers requires real-time evidence.

Key Recommendations

1. Define and Automate Security Baselines

• Use frameworks like NIST SP 800-209, ISO 27001, ISO 27040.

• Map controls to:

  • Authentication & RBAC

  • Encryption (in-flight & at-rest)

  • Logging & auditing

  • API hardening

• Continuously validate to avoid configuration drift.

2. Close the People & Process Gap

• Train InfoSec teams on backup/storage technologies.

• Assign clear ownership of backup security.

• Conduct tabletop exercises and recovery drills to build muscle memory.

3. Leverage Automation

• Use tools like StorageGuard to:

  • Automate asset discovery

  • Validate baselines

  • Detect misconfigurations

  • Correlate vendor CVEs with your environment

4. Apply the 3-2-1-1-0 Rule

• 3 copies of data

• 2 different storage media

• 1 copy offsite

• 1 immutable or offline copy

• 0 errors in backup validation

5. Integrate Monitoring & Alerting

• Feed backup logs to SIEM (Splunk, QRadar).

• Alert on anomalies and backup failures.

• Test recovery points regularly to ensure zero-error restores.

About StorageGuard

StorageGuard automates compliance for storage and backup systems by:

• Running agentless, read-only scans

• Mapping against NIST, ISO, and custom baselines

• Validating configurations and detecting drift

• Prioritizing vendor-specific CVEs

• Generating audit-ready compliance reports