Immutable Backups
The Last Line of Defence in Cyber Security
Constant threats demand stronger protection. Immutable backups go beyond traditional methods to guarantee clean recovery points and business continuity. Explore why they’re essential to cyber resilience.
With ransomware, insider threats, and accidental deletions posing constant risks, data protection strategies need to extend beyond traditional backups.
Immutable backups are a critical safeguard, ensuring that once data is written, it cannot be altered, encrypted, or deleted for a defined retention period. This makes them one of the most powerful tools in a modern cyber security arsenal.
The Risks of Traditional Backups
Traditional backups that can be altered or deleted after creation carry a significant security gap. Because they remain “live” and modifiable, they are susceptible to the same threats that target production systems. If an attacker gains access to the network, whether through compromised credentials, malware, or exploiting vulnerabilities, they can encrypt, corrupt, or erase these backups just as easily as they can the primary data. This erodes the very safety net backups are meant to provide.
How Attackers Undermine Recovery
In ransomware campaigns, it’s now common for attackers to seek out and disable backups before triggering encryption on production systems. By removing the victim’s ability to restore from a clean copy, they increase the likelihood of a ransom being paid. Non-immutable backups stored on connected drives or accessible over the network are prime targets, they can be overwritten, reformatted, or encrypted in minutes. Even without ransomware, a malicious insider or compromised admin account can intentionally delete or alter backup files, leaving no trustworthy recovery point.
The Cost of Compromised Backups
When backups are destroyed or tampered with, recovery becomes slow, incomplete, or impossible. This can lead to extended downtime, permanent data loss, regulatory non compliance, and severe reputational damage. In some cases, organisations have been forced to rebuild systems from scratch, incurring massive operational and financial costs. The absence of a guaranteed clean copy also undermines incident response efforts, as teams cannot be certain whether restored data is intact or has been subtly manipulated.
Why Immutable Backups Matter
Ransomware Resilience: attackers increasingly target backup repositories to cripple recovery efforts. Immutable backups are locked against modification, meaning even if production systems are compromised, the backup remains intact and recoverable.
Protection from Insider Threats: malicious or careless insiders can delete or overwrite backups. Immutability prevents such changes, preserving a clean copy of critical data.
Regulatory Compliance: most industries now require secure, tamper-proof data storage for compliance with standards like GDPR, HIPAA, and financial regulations. Immutable backups help meet these requirements by providing verifiable, unaltered records.
Accidental Deletion Recovery: human error is inevitable. Immutable backups ensure that even if files are mistakenly deleted from live systems, a safe, unmodified version is always available.
How to Implement Immutability Effectively
- Store backups in formats or systems that physically or logically prevent changes after writing.
- Integrate with Backup Policies & define retention periods that balance compliance, recovery needs, and storage costs.
- Combine immutability with encryption, access controls, and network segmentation for a defence-in-depth approach.
- Test recovery regularly, an immutable backup is only valuable if it can be restored quickly and reliably. Regular drills ensure readiness.
Immutable backups are not just a technical feature…
they are a business continuity guarantee. They provide confidence that, no matter the scale of a cyber incident, there is always a trustworthy, uncompromised copy of your data to restore from. In an age where downtime and data loss can cost millions, this assurance is invaluable.
How NG-IT Can Help
Ready to strengthen your data protection? NG-IT helps organisations implement immutable backups that protect against ransomware, insider threats, and costly downtime. We work with leading technology vendors to ensure your backups are always recoverable, compliant, and secure.
Partner with us to build a resilient, tamper-proof backup strategy that keeps your business running.
If you’d like to explore tailored IT solutions for your business, get in touch. We’re here to help you think differently and make your IT budgets work harder. Contact us to learn more.
Alternatively, schedule a call with a member of our team to further discuss your requirements and explore NG-IT’s services and solutions.
