E-book

Cybersecurity, Data Protection,
and Disaster Recovery:
Ensuring Business Continuity
for Your Organization

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E-book

Table of Contents
3

Employing Effective Cybersecurity Solutions for Data Protection Against AI-Assisted Attacks

6

Why Management Buy-In to Cybersecurity Solutions and Strategies Is Essential

8

A Four-Pronged Data Classification Strategy for Effective Data Protection,
Retention, and Storage Optimization

11

Business Continuity Matters Most:
7 Crucial Questions to Ask Your Disaster Recovery as a Service Provider

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Employing Effective Cybersecurity
Solutions for Data Protection
Against AI-Assisted Attacks

E-bookCyber risk provider IT Governance says over 6 billion records were compromised through November 2023.
IBM’s 2023 Data Breach Investigations Report found that 83 percent of breaches involved external actors.
The immediate future doesn’t look bright either because those statistics mostly predate the arrival of new
artificial intelligence (AI) applications like ChatGPT.
Hackers are now using AI to increase the frequency and severity of their attacks. Empowered by easy-touse AI tools, even many newbies are even jumping in to try their hand at cybercrime. Black hat wannabeswith zero coding experience can now grab off-the-shelf AI tools and create and deploy malicious software
relatively easily.
All it takes is one individual with bad intentions to quickly develop and unleash malware that can wreak
havoc on your company. These readily available AI tools empower even unsophisticated actors to executedenial-of-service attacks, create phishing emails, and launch ransomware. These attacks can be run
simultaneously from systems spread worldwide, making it nearly impossible for human operators tomanually detect all the attacking systems accessing their websites and portals.

Fight Back With AI-Driven Cybersecurity Solutions
There is good news. AI and deep-learning technologies give you potent weapons in the fight against
cybercrime. AI-driven security solutions with self-learning capabilities can proactively respond to emerging
threats and protect against a wide range of threats like ransomware and malware, effectively empowering
you to fight back.
These solutions, such as Sophos Intercept X Advanced, can detect anomalies and patterns indicativeof malicious behavior and stop attacks before they can cause harm. This intelligent approach todata protection reduces your reliance on reactive measures and allows you to stay a step ahead ofcybercriminals.

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E-bookAI and deep-learning systems can adapt and evolve to counter emerging threats, learn from previous incidents, andcontinuously improve defense mechanisms. By leveraging techniques like transfer learning, these systems can update theirknowledge bases with the latest threat intelligence and ensure greater data resiliency against future attacks.
These systems can also take proactive, automated actions based on predefined rules or learned behavior. For example, whena security breach or anomaly is detected, the system can automatically trigger measures like isolating affected systems or
blocking suspicious traffic.
This automated response cuts the time between detection and remediation, minimizing the potential impacts of acyberattack.

AI In the Real WorldOne example of AI in action is the well-known threat in the cybersecurity world called remote access Trojan (RAT). A RAT canbe embedded into a simple email attachment, such as a JPEG image, allowing cyber attackers to gain unauthorized accessto your systems. Since the IBM report also found that 74 percent of breaches involved the human element, this is a common
scenario.
Antivirus engines typically detect RATs based on their signatures and then distribute an alert to all endpoints to identify andremove the RATs. However, attackers can easily modify RATs—even slightly—to generate a different signature and evade
traditional signature-based detection.
AI and deep learning technologies are crucial to fighting back. Instead of relying solely on static signature matching, modern
cybersecurity tools powered by AI can analyze the behaviors of files and processes. They can observe whether a file is
executing specific actions or installing software. They can flag suspicious behavior and prevent potentially malicious actions
by learning and recognizing patterns in these activities.
Ensuring your data protection solutions employ this approach gives you more effective defenses against emerging threats.
Attackers are constantly developing new methods to evade conventional cybersecurity measures, so you must keep pace withthese changes by taking a proactive approach.

AI’s Evolution Continues
When you implement AI and deep learning tools, it’s essential to consider the challenges they may bring. While the benefitsof AI are clear, mistakes can still occur because it is quickly evolving. Sometimes, AI may misinterpret what is happening,
disrupting data or system availability.
These disruptions could occur if AI detects what it thinks are illegal activities. For example, AI tools often work with a reliability
score, triggering a response from your organization if the score falls below a preset threshold. If that happens in error, theresult is costly unplanned downtime. As an evolving technology, AI can’t guarantee perfection, and the threat of errors will
always exist. Regardless, AI will continue to improve its ability to distinguish real threats from other events.

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Getting Started With AI
While many companies are excited by AI’s potential, most don’t know where to start. The easiest way to leverage the benefitsof AI is by working with a reliable security solution provider well-versed in deep learning and AI. Your vendor of choice should
already incorporate AI into its products, as is the case with Arcserve Unified Data Protection (UDP) software. That way, you canrealize the benefits of AI immediately.
As the technology evolves, watch for more advances in data protection solutions that leverage AI and deep learning. In themeantime, strengthen your defenses by working with a solution provider with readily available AI-powered tools you can use
to neutralize cyberattacks and protect against data loss.
For expert guidance in implementing AI-driven data protections, choose an Arcserve technology partner.
Request a demo to learn more about the AI and deep-learning data protections included with Arcserve UDP.

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Why Management Buy-In
to Cybersecurity Solutions
and Strategies Is Essential

E-bookCybercriminals are threatening every business. The average cost of a data breach is now $4.45 million, according
to the IBM Cost of a Data Breach Report 2023. And Statista found that 6.41 million data records were leaked inworldwide data breaches in the first quarter of 2023.
These statistics should make any business leader take notice and act. Unfortunately, many still don’t take apractical, hands-on approach to cybersecurity solutions and data breach protection. Many aren’t even aware of
their business’s data disaster recovery strategies and plans.

Vulnerabilities Directly Threaten Business Continuity
That may surprise business leaders who are directly involved, given that threats like ransomware continue toincrease. As attacks increase in sophistication and frequency, leaders must recognize their central role in ensuring
data and business resiliency. Without active involvement, the risk of a reactive rather than proactive approach to
cybersecurity grows. That increases the business’s vulnerability and directly threatens its ability to continue tooperate if faced with data loss and the associated financial impacts of a data breach.
Why does this knowledge gap exist? Historically, many managers preferred to stay clear of the technical aspects of
their business. Data disaster recovery was viewed as an IT responsibility rather than an essential pillar for ensuring
the business’s prosperity. But ignoring data backup and disaster recovery isn’t an option anymore. Leaders who
fail to get involved in the planning and executing of business continuity plans risk the very existence of theirbusiness.

Why Management Buy-In Matters
Getting your CEO involved in business continuity planning is crucial for several reasons. First, leaders set thetone for their company’s priorities and values. They clearly communicate its importance by actively participating
in discussions and decisions relating to data protection strategy. That kind of leadership promotes a culture of
responsibility and accountability throughout the organization.

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E-bookCEO buy-in is also vital for securing the resources required to implement data protection strategies. Data protection anddisaster recovery demand investment in technologies, staff training, and infrastructure. When management actively
supports these initiatives, it helps ensure that cybersecurity is a priority throughout the company.
CEO and management buy-in is also essential because these leaders bring in-depth knowledge of the company’s
core functions, critical data, and key stakeholders. That knowledge is necessary for identifying potential risks andvulnerabilities. And it is crucial for creating an effective, robust disaster recovery plan that addresses overall businessobjectives within a framework that monitors evolving threats and adapts as needed.
Regulatory compliance is another critical consideration. Many sectors are subject to strict data protection regulations,such as the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). These regulations impose specific requirements forprotecting sensitive information and deliver severe penalties for non-compliance. By actively participating in developing
and testing disaster recovery plans, business leaders can ensure their business stays compliant.

Get Business Leaders Engaged
So, how do you ensure your business leaders and senior managers are involved in these endeavors?
One way is to promote awareness by holding regular training sessions to keep everyone updated on evolving threats
and the importance of data backup and disaster recovery planning. These sessions should emphasize the potential
impacts on operations and the essential nature of planning and data protection strategy to minimize risks. Thesesessions also provide senior leaders with the information they need to make informed decisions based on a clear
understanding of the risks they face.
A dedicated cybersecurity committee or working group—driven by management—can also facilitate active participationand the continued development of effective policies. This committee ensures that security measures are integrated into
the organization and aligned with the company’s overall objectives. Incorporating disaster recovery and cybersecurity
considerations into strategy planning sessions and regular board meetings further highlights the importance ofcybersecurity, data protection, and business continuity at the highest decision-making level.

Access External Expertise
Collaborating with external experts and participating in strategic events can give management valuable insights andestablish benchmarks for measuring progress. Bringing in external perspectives keeps everyone informed about
emerging threats and industry best practices. Consistently executing exercises and simulations ensures you are actively
testing your organization’s threat-resistance capabilities and identifying areas that need improvement.
Active participation in disaster recovery planning fosters an authentic culture of data resilience. By emphasizing theimportance of data protection and preparedness, leaders can ensure their business thrives, even in the face of disaster.
For expert help with all your data protection, backup, and disaster recovery needs, choose an Arcserve Technology Partner.

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A Four-Pronged Data Classification Strategy
for Effective Data Protection, Retention,and Storage Optimization
Statista predicts that the data created, consumed, and stored globally will reach 180 zettabytes by 2025. Handlingthe growing amounts of data your business generates—and avoiding pitfalls and problems scaling to meet thatdemand—requires a well-defined data classification strategy so you can make informed decisions regarding data
storage, access, and sharing.
Not all data is equally valuable. By classifying data based on attributes such as sensitivity, value, and whether it issubject to governance, risk, and compliance (GRC) requirements, you can establish clear, efficient guidelines for
how long each data category should be stored and retained.
For example, sensitive customer information may require extended retention periods due to regulatory
requirements, while non-critical operational data might require shorter retention periods. Ultimately, sound dataclassification enables you to reduce storage costs, minimize clutter, and ensure compliance. For your reference, theASEAN Data Management Framework stipulates in its guidelines that data management policies should clarify tointernal and external stakeholders how your organization handles data to internal and external stakeholders.

The Consequences of Ineffective Data Classification
You could expose your business to significant risks if you don’t have a solid data classification system. Here aresome examples:• Inability to differentiate between critical and non-critical data means your storage resources could be overloadedwith redundant or outdated information, wasting precious IT budget.
• Without proper classification, your business may struggle to identify data subject to retention requirements,
leading to noncompliance and potential legal repercussions.
• Poor data classification often translates to poor data security management. Without clear guidelines on handling
data, your employees and partners may inadvertently mishandle sensitive information, ignore encryption
protocols, share it with unauthorized users, and store it on devices that aren’t well secured.

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One major obstacle to establishing effective data classification policies is the sheer volume and diversity of data generated
across your business operations. Data may also be stored in different formats, file types, and locations. That makes theprocess more complicated and can lead to misclassification. Finally, a lack of employee awareness and training regarding
the importance of data classification can also slow adoption.

Four Steps to Effective Data Classification
With that in mind, here is a data classification guide that can help you ensure easier access, enhanced security, andimproved decision-making:

1. Establish a Cross-Functional Team
Assemble a task force involving IT, data management, legal, and compliance experts to define clear data classification
criteria that ensure your classification system meets regulatory requirements and supports business goals.

2. Invest in Automation
Data management and classification tools and solutions that automate the process can scan and analyze data to assign
appropriate labels and tags based on predefined rules. Automation offers many advantages, including dramaticallyreducing the potential for human error—a common problem in manual classification efforts.
The result will be higher accuracy in data classification and a reduced likelihood of sensitive information being mislabeled
or improperly handled. Finally, automation ensures a consistent classification standard across diverse data sources andtypes, eliminating discrepancies arising from human interpretation or judgment variations.

3. Invest in Training and AwarenessEducating your employees regarding the importance of data classification, the potential risks of mishandling data, andproper procedures for accurately classifying data is vital. Doing so enables you to foster a culture focused on responsibly
handling data throughout your organization.

4. Adopt a Dynamic Strategy
Data classification isn’t a one-and-done deal. It’s an ongoing task that demands continuous monitoring and adjustment.
Your business—and the world—doesn’t remain static, nor does your data. Proper classification requires periodic reviews
and updates to accommodate changes in data types, regulatory requirements, and business needs. Regular audits andassessments can identify areas where classification may have deviated from standards or when new data categories haveemerged.
An effective data classification strategy empowers your organization to harness the true potential of its disparate data andreplace chaos with clarity.

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E-bookProtect Your Data Properly
Because Arcserve offers the broadest set of best-in-class solutions to manage, protect, and recover all data workloads,
from SMB to enterprise, regardless of location or complexity, you can count on finding a solution that cost-effectively covers
every data classification type.
To learn more about Arcserve data protection solutions, choose an Arcserve technology partner.

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Business Continuity Matters Most:
7 Crucial Questions to Ask Your Disaster
Recovery as a Service Provider

E-bookAn ITIC study found that downtime costs exceed $300,000 per hour for small, medium, and large
enterprises. The same report noted that 44 percent of responding mid-sized and large enterprises said
that a single hour of downtime can cost upward of $1 million. If your business hasn’t paid this price yet,it likely will at some point. The Uptime Institute’s Annual Outages Analysis 2023 found that 78 percent ofrespondents had an outage (i.e., downtime) in the past three years.
With the odds stacked against you, preventing downtime is a paramount concern for IT pros. That
explains why Markets and Markets projects the disaster recovery as a service (DRaaS) market will growfrom $10.7 billion in 2023 to $26.5 billion by 2028.
These growing investments in DRaaS make sense when balancing risks against costs because they help
your organization recover its IT systems and data quickly. Calculating what downtime and data loss
would cost your organization easily makes the financial case for DRaaS.
The best DRaaS cloud solutions provide data backup and protect on-premises business systems anddata. They also ensure recovery even if you experience a sitewide disaster that destroys your onpremises and offsite backups. Many choices are available today, so what should you look for in a DRaaS
solution? Here are a few questions you can ask cloud solution providers to help you make the rightchoice for your business.

1. Does your solution support my recovery point
and recovery time (RPO/RTO) objectives?
Your RPOs and RTOs are vital metrics that define how much data your business can afford to lose andhow much downtime it can handle before the damage becomes too great. Arcserve Cloud Services, ourcloud-based DRaaS solution, delivers total business continuity and ensures you can get critical businesssystems back online quickly and easily.

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E-bookWith Cloud Services, you can meet your unique recovery requirements while enjoying access to data anywhere,anytime, with instant failover to a secure, fault-tolerant business continuity cloud. It also offers the resilience and elastic
scalability to adapt to continuously changing business continuity requirements in real time.

2. Can I customize the solution to fit my needs and budget?
Arcserve Cloud Services offers three service levels that provide preconfigured retention settings or allow you tocustomize your setup to meet your RPOs and RTOs. While default settings are three daily and two weekly retention
points, 20 more retention points are available at no additional cost. So, you can customize your backup strategy byadding more daily, weekly, or monthly recovery points. Choose the service level based on your needs and enjoy low
costs, control over cloud settings, and predictable monthly pricing.
With Cloud Basic, you get secure offsite storage of critical business backups with a complete system restore via a baremetal restore (BMR) drive. With Cloud Plus, you get everything in Cloud Basic, adding immediate file and folder recovery
from the cloud. And with Cloud Premium, you also add fast virtualization of your systems and data in the cloud.

3. Is protection from data loss, hackers, ransomware, andother threats included?
Arcserve Cloud Services is built over an enterprise-grade, secure, and redundant cloud infrastructure. The solution ishoused in one of the world’s most secure and energy-efficient facilities, with layered security, built-in redundancy andfault tolerance, and controls that strictly limit access to your data.
When paired with Arcserve’s backup and recovery solutions, Cloud Services ensures complete and reliable business
continuity, even if you’re hit by ransomware or other attack vectors. You can replicate backup images from Arcserve
OneXafe appliances, ShadowXafe, or ShadowProtect software to Cloud Services to keep your business running no matter
what because your data is always fully recoverable.

4. Do I have to pay additional fees to recover my data?
Many DRaaS providers charge for data recovery. Not Arcserve. Cloud Services includes 30 days (720 hours) of freevirtualization per machine per year. That means you can frequently test your business continuity plan to ensure you arealways prepared and recover when needed without worrying about a hit to your budget.

5. Is it easy to manage data protection and disaster recovery?
The Arcserve self-service cloud portal lets you centrally manage your cloud backup and recovery solution anytime,
anywhere. The portal dashboard shows the status of all accounts, machines, seed drives, BMR drives, virtual machines(VMs), and account space used.
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Cloud Services lets you set individual account alerts to notify you when uploads become inactive or data growth exceeds
established thresholds. You can also set alerts to notify you when new machines are added or deleted, VMs are running,and seed and BMR drives request updates. And if disaster strikes, you can fail over without third-party intervention.

6. Does the solution offer one-click failover andorchestrated recovery?
Use Virtual Machine Policy, available with Cloud Premium, to configure your mission-critical systems’ recovery sequence,order, and timing. Cloud Services also offers the unique—and patented—ability to test or start site-wide failover
processes by pressing a single button.

7. Do you offer advanced networking support?
With Cloud Services, you can customize your recovery network firewalls and update your recovery networks throughOpen VPN or IPsec to enable site-to-site, single-user, or virtual private network (VPN) connections.
Advanced networking features include:• Port forwarding• Port blocking• Network control options such as DHCP
• Independent and isolated recovery networks• Static public and private IP address reservations• Dynamic private IP address available at the time of a disaster• Flexible and custom VPN configurations

Arcserve Technology Partners: The DRaaS Experts
Arcserve’s partners are data protection experts who can help you put the optimal DRaaS solution in place for yourbusiness.
Choose an Arcserve Technology Partner.

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