The SaaS Provider’s Guide to Solving the Ransomware Problem

Discover the critical need for immutable, offsite backups in the realm of SaaS applications facing ransomware threats.

Written by
Andy Fernandez
Published on
March 29, 2023
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SaaS applications have become the prime target for ransomware attacks, boasting a staggering 52% success rate¹.

As a SaaS provider, your customers face dual threats from ransomware

  • Direct attacks on your customers: With phishing attacks skyrocketing by 1,100% Y/Y², end users are increasingly vulnerable to ransomware threats.  
  • Attacks on your service (supply chain): Even when following best practices, supply chain attacks on SaaS providers are a harsh reality. Incidents like the LastPass breach demonstrate how customers can be exposed when providers are compromised.

Your organization may have top-notch data protection, but what about your customers? If your customers’ data is deleted, corrupted, or compromised in an attack, they depend on you to recover from your backups. Sometimes this works; sometimes, it doesn’t. But what if your customers could always have a safe ‘break glass’ copy of their data on your service to recover themselves?  

It’s a great question, and we'll explore how offering immutable, offsite backups can help safeguard your customers’ data and enable self-service recovery, strengthening their trust in your SaaS solution and enhancing their resilience against ransomware attacks. Let's dive in!

‘We already have data protection.’ Yes, YOU do, but what about your customers?

As a SaaS provider, you know your IT and security teams have all the cutting-edge tools to handle an attack.

Whether your service operates on-premises, in a hybrid setup, or entirely in the cloud, you've built it with resilience in mind.

With high availability, cross-site replication, and offsite backups, your organization is ready to bounce back from a ransomware attack. However, your customers also rely on you for help during an attack. If your customer or service gets attacked, they will struggle to recover their data. Most customers do not have any backups outside your service, and those that do usually manually export data or create their own scripts. This approach is time-consuming, prone to failure, and not a reliable last line of defense for your customers.  

Let’s explore how to equip your customers with the tools they need to recover from ransomware attacks, accidental deletions, data corruption, rogue admins, etc.  

What if your customers could recover data themselves?

Immutable backups ensure that the stored data cannot be altered or deleted by unauthorized users, including ransomware attackers. This preserves the integrity of the data, making it a dependable ‘break glass’ option for customers to recover.  

Offsite storage, in the cloud or on-premises, adds another security dimension, physically separating backup copies from your service. This minimizes the risk of compromised backups during an attack and mitigates potential data loss from unforeseen events such as natural disasters or accidents.

By enabling the ability to store copies of data outside your service and offering a means of recovery, you can solve the ransomware problem for you and your customers.

Become a hero to your customers. Offer the gift of self-service recovery.

Let's be honest—data loss can happen anytime, and with the shared responsibility model, you're not liable. But wouldn't it be amazing to be a hero for your customers, providing them confidence in your service, knowing they can access their data no matter what?

As a SaaS provider, you can become that hero by offering a fast, simple way to recover from ransomware attacks. By creating immutable, offsite copies of your customer's data, you're giving them essential security and the power to bounce back from incidents confidently.

Going proactive like this not only shields your customers' precious data but also boosts their trust in you. You're showing your commitment to their success, ensuring they can withstand ransomware attacks with minimal downtime and cost. So, be the hero they need!

At HYCU, safeguarding the world’s data is our core mission. Trusted globally by organizations, we protect their most vital applications and data. We understand how complex and time-consuming building self-service backup and recovery can be. That’s why we’re here to empower SaaS companies like yours with the ability to deliver self-service backup and recovery for your customers in a few lines of code.  

Interested? Learn more here.

1The State of SaaS Ransomware Attack Preparedness - Odaseva

2Legitimate SaaS Platforms Being Used to Host Phishing Attacks – Unit 42

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Director of Product Management

Andy Fernandez is the Director of Product Management at HYCU, an Atlassian Ventures company.  Andy's entire career has been focused on data protection and disaster recovery for critical applications. Previously holding product and GTM positions at Zerto and Veeam, Andy’s focus now is ensuring organizations protect critical SaaS and Cloud applications across ITSM and DevOps.  When not working on data protection, Andy loves attending live gigs, finding the local foodie spots, and going to the beach.

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