Hackers now going straight to the source – company data backups

A fifth of organizations in the UK report attacks on backups as the main cause of data breaches.

As organizations increasingly rely on digital systems to store and manage critical data, the threat of cyberattacks has grown bigger and more sophisticated.

Just recently, the Business Digital Index revealed significant weaknesses in corporate cybersecurity: 63% of companies worldwide received a D or worse rating, and 40% fell into the failing F category.

Only 11% achieved an A rating.

While companies traditionally focus on protecting active systems and networks, having access to secure backup data is a given. However, it’s now becoming a prime target for cybercriminals.

According to Apricorn’s new survey of UK IT security decision makers, 18% of organizations reported that attacks on backups were the main cause of a data breach. This signals that hackers are now aiming not only to compromise primary data but also to play a disruptive role in business continuity.

This number is particularly troubling as only 31% of businesses that have had to recover from a backup were unable to do so fully. The companies either restored some of their data and documents or failed because of “inadequate processes.”

Thirteen percent of organisations admit they lack sufficiently robust systems for rapid recovery.

“We all know that breaches are almost inevitable, so being able to recover from a breach should be as high on the boardroom agenda as being able to prepare for one. Full recovery is only possible when backups are both comprehensive and regularly tested,” said Jon Fielding, Managing Director, EMEA, Apricorn.

Danish cloud provider CloudNordic is an example of how cybercriminals can turn a company’s backup systems against it. Cybernews has previously reported that in 2023 hackers managed to encrypt all company disks – including both primary and secondary backups.

This left most customer data irretrievable and halted the company’s operations. The business did have firewalls, used antivirus software, and had put up multiple backup layers in place. Hackers still managed to exploit previously infected servers, demonstrating that even well-protected backups can become a critical vulnerability when targeted.

Back to the newest survey – it’s important ot notice some positive tendencies: 58% of organizations were able to fully recover from backups, which is an improvement from 50% reported in 2024.

Forty-four percent of organizations now use automated backups to both a central and personal repository, up from 30% last year, and 85% have adopted some form of automation overall.

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