Gold Copy Backups Beyond Ransomware Reach
Ransomware operators delete every backup they can reach before they encrypt. A gold copy held behind a physical air gap is the one backup they cannot touch.
93%
Of ransomware attacks specifically target backup infrastructure before encrypting production systems.
Sophos State of Ransomware 2024
Ransomware operators know that backups are the last line of defence. That is why 93% of attacks specifically target backup infrastructure before encrypting production systems. Cloud-connected backups are reachable, and therefore encryptable. Network-attached storage sits on the same network as the threat. Once backups are gone, the organisation has no choice but to pay.
Scenario, protection, outcome.
What actually happens
A mid-size firm's entire network is encrypted overnight. The attackers had already compromised the cloud backup account and deleted all snapshots before triggering the ransomware. The NAS device on the local network was encrypted alongside production servers. With no clean backup available, the firm faced a £1.5M ransom demand and 34 days of downtime.
How OSS prevents it
- Gold copies stored on physically air-gapped media, no network path exists for ransomware to reach them
- Tamper-evident storage with 24/7 physical monitoring ensures backup integrity
- Rapid recovery, gold copies are always intact, verified, and ready for restoration
- Scalable from terabytes to hundreds of terabytes of critical data
Zero
Ransom paid. Hours, not weeks, to restore.
With gold copies stored offline in Firevault OSS, the firm restored operations within hours instead of weeks. No ransom was paid, no data was lost, and the board could demonstrate to regulators that proper technical measures were in place.
The only backup an attacker cannot encrypt is the one they cannot reach.
More use cases
Other ways organisations put Offline Secure Storage to work.
Related Solutions
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