Request a Demo
Join a 30 minute demo with a Cloudian expert.
What Is Cyberstorage?
Cyberstorage refers to a set of storage technologies that protect data from ransomware and other threats to data integrity, confidentiality, and availability. It is a new technology category that leverages advanced encryption methods, secure data transfer protocols, and robust access control mechanisms to protect critical information directly at the storage level.
Cyberstorage has appeared in Gartner’s Hype Cycle for Storage and Data Protection for several years. In the 2023 report, Gartner defined it as follows:
“Cyberstorage offers an active defense of the storage systems and their data against cyberattacks through prevention, early detection and blocking of attacks, and aids in recovery through analytics and storage-specific recovery capabilities.”
This is part of a series of articles about data protection
In this article:
Why is Cyberstorage Important?
The importance of cyberstorage, and ransomware protection in general, has grown in recent years with the growing sophistication of ransomware attack and the prevalence of double-extortion attacks—in which attackers not only encrypt sensitive data but also exfiltrate it and threaten to make it public unless the ransom is paid.
Cyberstorage refers to a developing collection of measures that protect storage system data against ransomware attacks. These measures include early detection and blocking of malicious activities, significantly reducing the risk of data breaches. Additionally, cyberstorage may incorporate analytics to identify the onset of an attack, enabling organizations to respond swiftly and minimize downtime.
Related content: Read our guide to data protection strategy
The Pillars of Cyberstorage
1. Proactive Technology
An essential aspect of cyberstorage is that it is proactive—it can recognize anomalies and automatically respond by quarantining threat locations. This proactive approach involves alerting and recording the suspicious activity for further investigation, significantly enhancing the speed of response and recovery. By integrating high-performing security analytics and intelligence, cyberstorage solutions can detect and block attacks before they cause significant damage, ensuring continuous protection of the storage infrastructure.
Proactive technology operates by continuously monitoring data access patterns and usage behaviors. When deviations from the norm are detected, the system can autonomously take corrective actions, such as isolating the compromised segment of the storage and initiating an alert to the IT security team. This not only prevents the spread of malicious activity but also ensures that a detailed record of the incident is available for forensic analysis and future prevention strategies.
2. Immutable Snapshots
Immutable snapshots are unchangeable copies of data that provide a reliable recovery point in case of a cyberattack. These snapshots ensure that there is always a clean version of the data available, free from ransomware or other malicious alterations. By maintaining these immutable copies, organizations can quickly revert to a known good state, avoiding the need to pay ransom or suffer extended downtimes.
Immutable snapshots work by creating a digital copy of the data at a specific point in time, which cannot be altered or deleted. This creates a robust defense against ransomware attacks that seek to encrypt or corrupt data. Even if the live data is compromised, the immutable snapshot remains intact, allowing organizations to restore their systems to a pre-attack state swiftly. This capability is crucial for minimizing downtime and ensuring business continuity, as it provides a dependable fallback option in the event of a data breach.
3. Recovery and Continuation
Cyberstorage solutions offer the ability to instantly recover and continue operations after an attack. This involves self-healing capabilities that restore compromised data to its original state, ensuring minimal disruption to business processes. Rapid recovery mechanisms enable organizations to maintain business continuity by quickly reverting to clean data versions and resuming normal operations without significant delays.
By employing technologies such as snapshot replication and automated failover processes, cyberstorage solutions ensure that data recovery is both swift and seamless. Self-healing systems can automatically detect corrupted files and replace them with clean versions from the immutable snapshots. This not only reduces the time needed to restore operations but also minimizes the potential for data loss, thus ensuring that the business can continue to operate with minimal interruption.
4. Data-Level Safeguards
Data-level safeguards are critical in protecting sensitive information, even if it is exfiltrated during a breach. These safeguards include advanced encryption and access control measures that ensure data remains secure and unreadable to unauthorized parties. By securing data at the granular level, cyberstorage solutions provide an additional layer of defense against cyber threats, making it difficult for attackers to exploit stolen information.
Data-level safeguards involve encrypting data both at rest and in transit, ensuring that even if data is intercepted, it cannot be read or used without the proper decryption keys. Access controls further enhance security by restricting data access to authorized users only, using mechanisms such as multi-factor authentication and role-based access controls. Additionally, data masking and tokenization can be used to anonymize sensitive information, providing an extra layer of security and compliance with data protection regulations.
Cloudian HyperStore: Implementing Cyberstorage with the NIST Framework
Cloudian HyperStore® demonstrates how cyberstorage principles can be implemented through alignment with the NIST Cybersecurity Framework, providing a comprehensive approach to protecting unstructured data storage against modern cyber threats.
A Framework-Based Approach to Storage Security
The NIST Cybersecurity Framework offers five core functions—Identify, Protect, Detect, Respond, and Recover—along with governance components, creating a complete cycle of cybersecurity activities. Cloudian HyperStore addresses each of these functions with specific capabilities that embody the four pillars of cyberstorage:
Proactive Technology and Detection
HyperStore includes advanced monitoring capabilities through its point-in-time view of buckets, allowing administrators to track and assess the state of their storage environment. The system is designed to recognize and alert administrators about common attack patterns, with enhanced capabilities to automatically disable compromised credentials and block active threats before they spread.
Immutable Data Protection
Protection is implemented through multiple layers, including S3 Object Lock, which prevents unauthorized modification of data, complemented by object overwrite protection. These features ensure that clean copies of data remain available even when live systems are compromised, providing the foundation for reliable recovery.
Rapid Response and Recovery
A notable example of HyperStore’s response capabilities is its handling of ransomware attacks that attempt to exploit S3 CopyObject with encryption—the Cloudian system automatically recognizes and blocks these attempts by default and notifies administrators. The Point-in-Time View feature enables organizations to quickly restore data to a known good state following an incident, minimizing downtime and data loss.
Data-Level Safeguards and Governance
HyperStore provides Identification and Access Management features, allowing for granular control over access and permissions following the “least privilege” principle, with improved auditing capabilities and centralized user management through IDP integration. By integrating HyperStore’s Syslog output into SIEM systems, organizations gain enhanced visibility and can reduce their Mean Time To Detect potential threats.
Conclusion
Cyberstorage represents a critical evolution in how organizations protect their data infrastructure. By implementing comprehensive frameworks like NIST and incorporating the four pillars of cyberstorage—proactive technology, immutable snapshots, rapid recovery, and data-level safeguards—organizations can build resilient defenses against increasingly sophisticated ransomware and cyberattacks targeting storage systems.
