ARMONK, N.Y., July 20, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- IBM (NYSE: IBM)
announced today it is bringing advanced data protection
capabilities to the IBM FlashSystem family of all-flash arrays to
help companies better plan for – and recover quickly from –
ransomware and other cyberattacks.
Over the last year, cybercriminals have taken advantage of the
increasingly distributed data landscapes and ramped-up the
frequency of their attacks. Ransomware in particular, which is used
to gain access to and then encrypt corporate data to block its
access and/or expose it unless a ransom is paid, is on the rise.
According to cybersecurity firm, SonicWall, ransomware attacks rose
to 304.6 million1 in 2020, up 62% over 2019, mainly due
to the highly distributed workforces caused by the pandemic. In
fact, through May of 2021, the group reported 226.3 ransomware
attacks already, up 116% year to date over 2020.2
To help companies fortify their enterprises and better protect
their data, IBM announced IBM Safeguarded Copy for the IBM
FlashSystem family of all-flash storage arrays. Safeguarded Copy
automatically creates data copies in "immutable snapshots" that are
securely isolated within the system and cannot be accessed or
altered by unauthorized users. In the event of data loss, a data
breach, malicious activity or any other event that compromises data
or disrupts operations, customers can recover their data from the
snapshots based on known points-in-time prior to the breach.
"Protecting against ransomware and other forms of malware
requires a two-pronged approach to resiliency that involves
automated protection and rapid recovery," said Denis Kennelly, General Manager, IBM Storage.
"That's why we're standardizing our modern data protection
software, Safeguarded Copy, across our portfolio, bringing even
more cyber resiliency to IBM FlashSystem. Cyberattacks are on the
rise, but data can be protected and restored when you are
prepared."
"Staying ahead of today's cyber threats is a top priority for
us, especially as a local municipality," said Benny Yazdanpanahi, CIO at The City of Tyler, Texas, and an IBM FlashSystem
customer, who was briefed on the solution. "We're responsible
for everything from educational systems to critical public
services, so protecting our data is critical. These days,
continuous operations have as much to do with thwarting
cyberattacks as it does data protection. Having the ability to
create and restore immutable copies of data with SafeGuarded Copy
is an exciting approach to continuous operations."
How Safeguarded Copy Can Help Protect Your Data & Your
Business
With Safeguarded Copy storage administrators can schedule the
automatic creation of the logical point-in-time snapshots for
scheduled intervals of their choice. Because the software separates
the snapshots into distinct Safeguarded 'pools' on the storage
system, they are immutable and inaccessible. Once in the pool,
the data is only actionable after it has been recovered,
eliminating the risk of data tampering or deletion.
Customers can also leverage Safeguarded Copy to extract and
restore specific data from the backup snapshots to diagnose
production issues. In addition, Safeguarded Copy can be used for
regular validations of the copies to provide early detection of a
problem and aid in the investigation of compromised data. And
unlike some comparable snapshot solutions, IBM Safeguarded Copy
enables customers to configure the systems and schedule backups
themselves, rather than rely on the storage provider to log onto
the customer's system and set it up remotely.
In addition, IBM announced that Safeguarded Copy can now be
integrated with IBM Security QRadar®. QRadar monitors
activities and looks for signs that an attack may have begun, such
as the attempted logging in of an unauthorized person. With today's
announcement, QRadar can now be used to proactively invoke
Safeguarded Copy to automatically create a protected backup at the
first sign of a threat.
Safeguarded Copy is based on the same proven technology within
the IBM DS8000 family3 delivering security, cyber
resiliency and recovery innovations across the entire IBM Storage
portfolio. From encryption at rest and in motion, as well as data
replication, to the physical "air gapping" available with IBM tape
solutions, to the Write-Once-Read-Many (WORM) capabilities within
the virtual tape libraries, IBM storage solutions provide customers
many ways to protect their data and recover quickly in the event of
a breach.
On-Prem Storage as a Service
for Fast Access to Hybrid Clouds
IBM also announced plans to roll out this Fall the new IBM
Storage as a Service offering which is designed to give customers a
fast, new way to integrate hybrid cloud storage into any datacenter
environment, eliminating the need for upfront capital expense of a
system purchase.
As part of the company's new Flexible
Infrastructure family of pay-as-you-grow offerings, IBM
Storage as a Service makes it simple for customers to choose the
storage they need by determining the right performance, capacity,
and service term that matches their workload and business needs.
With one to five-year options, and no new contract penalty,
customers pay a single rate based on TB/month at a fixed annual
rate and the performance level of the system deployed. IBM handles
the rest – from install and configuration to concierge level
services and support – providing an experience that combines the
control of an on-prem deployment with the ease of a cloud
service.
Customers will be able to dynamically scale their storage
capacity up or down as they need with variable pricing, only paying
for what they use. And unlike some comparative services, IBM
Storage as a Service's base and variable pricing (when extra
capacity is needed) are the same. In addition, customers are not
penalized for having data that is not compressible.
"In our business, data generation is a constant and maintaining
its integrity an imperative," said Dave
Anderson-Ward, server and storage technical team lead at
Ordnance Survey, Great Britain's
national mapping agency, who was briefed on the solution. "We're
always looking for the most efficient ways to securely store and
manage these growing volumes. The new IBM Storage as a Service
solution would be something to consider because it would give us
the benefit of maintaining our data on-prem while paying for
capacity, as we used it. In addition, with IBM maintaining the
system, we could focus on the data."
The solution will be easily extended to support hybrid cloud use
cases with the monthly-priced Spectrum Virtualize for Public Cloud,
which supports IBM Cloud and AWS, and with planned support for
Microsoft Azure. IBM Storage-as-a-Service will also support hybrid
cloud solutions deployed via cloud-adjacent architecture at
Equinix.
Pricing for IBM Storage as a Service will be offered in three
tiers that consider the level of system performance needed,
capacity required, and the length of commitment. The service will
start as low as $27/TB/month on
effective basis4 and come with full concierge
lifecycle services. In addition, customers will have the ability to
take advantage of IBM's optional 100% data availability
guarantee.5 For each solution, IBM will provide about
50% of additional reserve capacity above customer base needs
to be able to respond immediately for data growth. The reserve
capacity will be billed at the same rate as the base capacity once
it is utilized.
IBM plans to make IBM Storage as a Service available across
North America and Europe in September. The company plans to
extend the service to other regions around the world in the future.
The service joins IBM's existing as-a-Service offerings, including
the IBM Storage Utility service and IBM Cloud Storage
Services, all of which are designed to provide customers with the
ability to access and integrate IBM innovation in the most
effective manner possible, across any hybrid cloud environment.
About
- For more information on today's IBM Storage news, including
updates to the IBM DS8000 and IBM TS7770 families, read the IBM
Systems Blog.
Statements regarding IBM's future direction and intent are
subject to change or withdrawal without notice and represent goals
and objectives only.
Media Contact
Michael
Zimmerman
IBM Media Relations
mrzimmerman@us.ibm.com
1 SonicWall Cyber Threat Report 2021
2 SonicWall Already a Record Year for Ransomware,
2021 May Just Be Warming Up
3 IBM DS8000 series is IBM's storage system family
designed for mainframe computing environments.
4 Pricing configuration is for a 400TB commitment of
Tier 3 storage at 3:1 data compression over 5 years.
5 Optional 100% data availability guarantee with IBM
HyperSwap® when deployed by IBM Lab Services. Terms and conditions
apply.
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SOURCE IBM