Check out our companion blog!

Ransomware Episodes

Nov. 6, 2023

CDP: The Next Great Thing in DR?

In this episode of the Backup Wrap-Up, W. Curtis Preston and Prasanna Malaiyandi discuss Continuous Data Protection (CDP) and its potential as the next great thing in disaster recovery. They explore the concept of meeting an RTO and RPO of zero and question why CDP isn't used for all backups in DR. Tune in to learn more about CDP and its role in backup and disaster recovery. Article mentioned in the story: https://www.theregister.com/2023/10/10/ransomware_attacks_register_record_speeds
Oct. 16, 2023

The importance of backing up cloud resources

In this episode of the Backup Wrap-up, we continue our Backup to Basics series by discussing the importance of protecting cloud infrastructure, including Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS), Platform as a Service (PaaS), and Software as a Service (SaaS). We then dive into the differences between these various cloud services and highlight the need to back up various components of each. We also discuss a recent incident where a Danish hosting company lost a significant amount of customer data due t...
Oct. 2, 2023

Hybrid Cloud Storage: Back it up or not?

In this episode of the Backup Wrap-Up, host W. Curtis Preston, also known as Mr. Backup, and his co-host Prasanna Malaiyandi, discuss the importance (or not) of backing up data in hybrid cloud storage systems, with a possibly surprising answer. The episode begins with backup-related news, followed by a deep dive into a single area or lesson that can help protect against ransomware. The news segment includes a story about Toyota, where multiple manufacturing plants shut down during their producti...
Sept. 11, 2023

The Unforeseen U-turn: Inside Microsoft 365's Backup Revolution

In this episode of Restore it All, our hosts Curtis and Prasanna delve deep into the recent significant developments in the world of data backups, with a special spotlight on Microsoft 365's about-face on native user backups. They dissect Microsoft's sudden realization of its potential revenue streams and the ramifications of its new direction. The duo also discusses the intricacies of Microsoft's new backup APIs, sharing insights into the former approaches and the strategic changes aimed at ...
Aug. 28, 2023

Are password managers no longer an option?

In this episode, we look at the latest Ransomware Trends Report from Veeam, which gives us a view into the sobering world of ransomware attacks and the critical lessons they teach us about cyber defense. Join W. Curtis Preston (Mr. Backup) and Prasanna Malaiyandi, as they break down the key insights from the report. We explore the ruthless tactics of ransomware operators, the eye-opening stats on recovery time, and the evolving strategies of cyber insurers. From the importance of robust password...
May 2, 2023

What are SIEM, SOAR, EDR, XDR? Are they available as a service?

Are you doing all you can to stop ransomware attacks before they happen, or kill them the moment they show up? Have you looked into this and found yourself swimming in alphabet soup (SIEM, SOAR, EDR, XDR)? Have you looked at some of these tools and found them to be prohibitively expensive or too complex? This is the episode for you. We have Dez Rock, CEO of SIEMonster, a SIEM/SOAR/XDR as a service company. She helps us weed our way through these acronyms, and then tells us about how SIEMonster (...
March 13, 2023

Preparing an incident response plan for ransomware

An incident response plan is the key to successfully surviving a ransomware attack, and it's a bit like Dramamine. The time to get one is too late to get one. @Vmiss (Melissa Palmer) joins us again to talk about this important topic. We talk about the important role cyber insurance companies can play in helping you find an IR team and helping you develop a plan. (They can actually force you to do so in order to get coverage.) @vmiss was a blast to talk to again, and we're sure you'll enjoy this ...
March 6, 2023

What to do with your network in a ransomware attack

We have talked about this a lot on the pod, and now we have someone that can explain what you actually do with your network when you get a ransomware attack. It's Tom Hollingsworth from Gestalt IT, and we're excited to have him on the pod. Some of his recommendations of course, require some configuration in advance. We talk about VLANs, SEIM and access management tools, and why many networking admins are terrified of the "reject all" concept that would actually make your network much more resili...
Feb. 13, 2023

@vmiss warns about ransomware attacks on VMware

How great is it to discuss your favorite topics, learn something new, and have a great time all at the same time? That's what this episode is like. @vmiss (AKA Melissa Palmer) came on the pod for the first time this week. I've read a lot of her content and tweets over the years, and it was great to finally put a face to the name. She knows her stuff when it comes to security, since she was actually working in it before she got into VMware. It was a great conversation I think you'll learn a lot f...
Feb. 6, 2023

Block ransomware from writing to your Windows Veeam backup server

We've talked a bit on this podcast about ransomware groups targeting Windows-based backup servers, and Veeam specifically. There's a new product on the market targeted at this problem, and it's called Blocky for Veeam from Grau Data. Today we have the founder & CEO of Grau Data, Herbert Grau, and their head of North American operations, David Cerf. What we didn't know until recording this episode is that these are the same people that used to make the gigantic Grau tape libraries that is used co...
Jan. 16, 2023

Protecting backups from ransomware (Backup to Basics)

The latest in our Backup to Basics series is about making sure hackers don't delete, encrypt, or exfiltrate your backups as part of a ransomware attack. (Our Backup to Basics series reviews topics from Curtis' latest book Modern Data Protection, which you can download at druva.com/e-book.) We talk about how and why hackers are specifically targeting your backup system to either disable it or use it as a source for exfiltration. Then we talk about a number of things you can do to defend your back...