Ransomware attacks on backups now target 96% of organizations—and only 25% feel ready. Learn why attackers go after your recovery systems and how to fight back.

If you think ransomware is just about encrypting your production data, you're missing the bigger picture. The bad guys figured out something a long time ago: if they can take out your backups, they've got you. You can't recover, you can't restore operations, and suddenly that ransom payment looks like your only option.

In this episode of The Backup Wrap-up, Prasanna and I dig into the latest research from Veeam and Sophos that paints a pretty scary picture. We're talking about ransomware attacks on backups happening in almost every single incident. The numbers don't lie—96% of attacks go after your backup infrastructure.

But here's what really gets me: only about a quarter of organizations think they're ready for this. That's a massive gap between the threat and the preparation. And when you look at recovery times—less than 7% of companies get back on their feet within a day, and over a third take more than a month—you start to understand the real impact.

Why does recovery take so long? It's not the restore. The restore is actually the easy part. It's figuring out what happened, how deep the attackers got, and whether your backups are even clean. That forensic piece is what kills you.

So what can you do about ransomware attacks on backups? We cover the key defenses:

- True immutability—not the marketing version, but actual write-once storage where even you can't delete the data
- Separating your backup infrastructure from your production identity systems
- Using different IAM for your backup environment
- Implementing MFA and passkeys
- Understanding why "if it's a computer and it's plugged into the network, it's hackable"

The bottom line: ransomware attacks on backups are not a theoretical threat. They're happening right now, to organizations just like yours. The question isn't if you'll face an attack—it's whether you'll be able to recover when it happens.

This episode ties directly into the ransomware book I've been working on with Mike Saylor, which covers response and recovery in detail. We took the approach that ransomware is going to happen, so let's make sure you can actually bounce back.

Subscribe to The Backup Wrap-up for more episodes on protecting your data and surviving the threats that keep IT professionals awake at night.

CHAPTERS:
0:00 - Introduction
2:45 - Why attackers target backups
5:30 - The 96% statistic explained
8:15 - Recovery time statistics
12:00 - The forensics problem
15:30 - Defending with immutability
19:00 - Separating backup infrastructure
22:00 - Key takeaways
LINKS:
🔗 The Backup Wrap-up: https://www.backupwrapup.com
🔗 Veeam Data Protection Trends Report
🔗 Sophos State of Ransomware Report
#ransomware #backup #cybersecurity #dataprotection #immutablebackup #cyberrecoveryWhile