A data archive is a must for every company. Few people know: An active WORM archive can help to streamline data backup, save costs and prepare for future requirements. It is also resistant to ransomware thanks to insurmountable hardware sealing!
In many films, officers are sent to the archives as punishment after making mistakes. Dark rooms with hallways full of files that almost no one except the archivist ever sees. Often, however, the archive and the all-knowing archivist save the hero in the end because this is the only place where information can be found that is crucial to the outcome of the plot.
For many people, this image of the archive has made it into the digital age: data that ends up in the archive is difficult to access and can only be used with a lot of effort. The archive is the graveyard for data that will hopefully never be needed again. Such data can disappear in so-called “cold archives” – or, if there are no legal reasons to the contrary, can actually be deleted straight away.
The core question: Which data goes into the archive?
But this raises a crucial question: Who decides which data is moved to the archive? Actually the producer of the data, i.e. the user. In practice, this is not realistic because users rarely care about data management. So this task remains with the IT manager. However, they often cannot estimate which data is actually “no longer needed” and will end up in the archive. If in doubt, you decide to leave much more data in productive environments than is actually necessary. The result: costs for productive storage and data backup are constantly increasing. In the age of ransomware, where different backup areas have to be specially secured using immutability, this further increases the complexity of data backup.
Always available: The active archive
However, archive storage that is not based on pure offline media (such as tape) can be operated as an “active archive”. The idea: Even if data is moved from the productive systems to the active archive, it remains available at all times. It is therefore a matter of identifying data that (may) no longer be changed, such as increasingly automatically generated data. Outsourcing this data at an early stage significantly streamlines data backup, saves costs and reduces complexity.
The active WORM archive
Cyber attackers almost always target data backup first to prevent reliable recovery of manipulated data. Active archives therefore need special protection. Storage systems with insurmountable hardware sealing offer the highest level of security: WORM storage.
The modern archive
A modern archive should be seen as a central component of data backup in order to reduce regular backups and generally minimize the complexity of backup and recovery. Free, fast access ensures the availability of outsourced data, and sealing via hardware WORM guarantees maximum protection.
This removes several hurdles for archiving.
- It is relatively clear which data can be moved to the (active) archive: in any case all automatically generated, non-reproducible data. Caution is advised when it comes to personal and other sensitive data, which usually requires special, audit-proof archive systems.
- It doesn’t matter if “too much” data ends up in the archive. In the worst case, a new version of the data record is created if there is a change. The more data is moved to the active archive, the leaner the data backup becomes.
- Because: The data is still available. In many cases, archive software ensures data transparency, so users don't even realize where the data is ultimately stored. Or the active archive acts like a network storage (NAS) that users can access using usual means.
- The WORM seal protects the data 100% from manipulation and unwanted deletion right from the start. Data manipulation would only create new versions in a WORM archive, which would suddenly increase the capacity required. This makes such attacks relatively easy to detect. To protect against human error and technology failures, the archive storage must also have sufficient local and geo-redundancy.
Technologies: Tape, Cloud, Disk/Flash
Tape is considered a classic archive medium and also offers concrete advantages for “cold archives”. The media is inexpensive, can be stored safely offline, and the capacity can be expanded essentially indefinitely. However, data on tapes is “cold” and can only be used again after being transferred back to another storage system. An active archive cannot be created this way.
Outsourcing data to a cloud archive is becoming increasingly popular. This can be useful for small businesses because no investment in special storage systems is necessary. The costs also seem low at first. Storage (uploading) and storage often cost nothing or very little. However, costs arise when retrieving data. There are often several levels, depending on the desired availability. This may be acceptable for infrequent or one-time access, but history has shown that providers can - and do - increase their prices at will. At the latest when data is required again and again and in large quantities for local evaluations (AI), the question of economic viability arises. The lack of transparency regarding actual storage can be problematic, especially when it comes to data that is subject to the GDPR.
This leaves local or private storage systems based on non-linear media such as hard drives or flash. However, in most cases, standard storage does not meet the requirements to be used as an active WORM archive that also keeps up with the price of the “alternatives” mentioned. Active WORM archives based on hard drives (or flash) are storage systems specifically developed for this purpose.
Silent Cubes combine many requirements
Silent Cubes have been securing archive data with exactly these features for over 15 years. Originally developed for audit-proof archiving to comply with legal requirements, Silent Cubes are increasingly being used as general, active WORM archives. In addition to hardware WORM sealing, they have other technologies to protect against manipulation and data loss. Within a memory module, data is protected against hardware failure using erasure coding with fourfold redundancy. Geo-redundancy protects against the failure of entire systems. Since the system is modular, individual memory modules can be switched to standby with extremely low energy consumption when not in use. Comprehensive, flexible maintenance agreements also ensure smooth operation for ten or more years.
More at FAST-LTA.de
About FAST LTA the FAST LTA is the specialist for secure secondary and long-term storage systems. The combination of durable and low-maintenance hardware, integrated software for data backup and on-site maintenance contracts with a term of up to 10 years ensure long-term, cost-effective storage of data from archive and backup applications. In-house developments such as local erasure coding, sealing using hardware WORM and efficient energy management help medium-sized customers to protect themselves against data loss through ransomware attacks and misconfiguration and to meet regulatory and legal requirements (GDPR). The Munich provider's solutions have proven themselves in thousands of installations in healthcare, public administration, film/TV/video and industry.