Latest news with #datarecovery
Associated Press
6 days ago
- Business
- Associated Press
Elastio and Advance2000 Partner to Launch Ransomware Recovery Assurance Platform
BOSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 27, 2025-- Elastio, the leading ransomware recovery assurance platform, announced a strategic partnership with Advance2000 (A2K), a premier provider of private cloud infrastructure and managed IT services. This collaboration introduces the Advance2000 Ransomware Recovery Assurance Platform, a comprehensive solution powered by the Elastio Platform and integrated with Veeam in A2K's secure cloud environment. Designed to enhance business continuity and cyber resilience, this new platform empowers A2K customers to detect ransomware encryption and data corruption in backup data. By combining Elastio's intelligent scanning capabilities with A2K's high-performance private cloud, clients gain confidence that their restore points are clean, validated, and safe. 'Advance2000 has built a trusted reputation as a secure cloud provider for industries where uptime, compliance, and data protection are paramount,' said Christopher Sauer, Global Vice President of Strategic Alliances at Elastio. 'By integrating Elastio into their Veeam-based backup service, A2K is delivering a critical layer of ransomware recovery assurance—giving customers confidence that they can bounce back from ransomware events cleanly, quickly, and securely with uncompromised data.' Closing the Gaps in Traditional Backup and Recovery Ransomware continues to evolve—modern tactics often infiltrate quietly, encrypting data slowly over weeks or months to evade detection and ensure compromised files get backed up. When organizations try to recover, they risk restoring tainted data, leaving them uncertain, scrambling to find a clean backup, and more vulnerable to ransom demands. The Advance2000 Ransomware Recovery Assurance Platform addresses this risk head-on with advanced features including: 'Today's cyber threats require more than just backups — they demand assurance,' said Brian Maouad, CEO of Advance2000. 'Our partnership with Elastio reinforces our commitment to providing resilient, secure, and high-performing private cloud solutions. The Advance2000 Ransomware Recovery Assurance Platform enables us to protect our clients from the growing ransomware threat and deliver recovery outcomes they can trust.' This partnership underscores a shared mission to redefine how organizations approach ransomware recovery. By uniting A2K's vertically integrated private cloud infrastructure with Elastio's industry-leading recovery assurance platform, customers can reduce recovery times, safeguard compliance, and achieve greater cyber resilience. For more information on how Elastio and Advance2000 are redefining backup data recovery and ransomware protection, visit or contact Chris Sauer, Global Vice President, Strategic Alliances and Channels, at [email protected]. About Advance2000 Advance2000 is a privately held IT and Cloud Service Provider delivering secure, high-performance private cloud and managed IT services across the Architecture, Engineering, Construction (AEC), Legal, Education, and Healthcare sectors. With a nationwide presence and 24/7 support, Advance2000 provides vertically integrated cloud solutions that offer unmatched performance, security, and reliability. Learn more at About Elastio Elastio is the leader in ransomware recovery assurance. The Elastio Platform proactively validates backup and replication data for encryption, corruption, and threats, bridging the gap between security tools and backup systems. By ensuring clean and uncompromised recovery points, Elastio enables organizations to recover quickly and confidently from zero-day ransomware attacks. Learn more at View source version on CONTACT: MEDIA CONTACT Stephanie Broyles Chief Marketing Officer, Elastio 833-435-2784 [email protected] KEYWORD: MASSACHUSETTS UNITED STATES NORTH AMERICA INDUSTRY KEYWORD: NETWORKS SECURITY DATA MANAGEMENT TECHNOLOGY SOFTWARE SOURCE: Elastio Copyright Business Wire 2025. PUB: 05/27/2025 10:03 AM/DISC: 05/27/2025 10:02 AM
Geeky Gadgets
6 days ago
- Business
- Geeky Gadgets
Choose Secure Data Erasure Over Factory Reset for Mac
Apple Silicon or Intel-based Macs have an option to be reset to factory mode. Once the Mac device is reset, all the applications and saved personal data are formatted, and the device is restored to factory settings. This hard reset frees up storage space, deleting stored data and thereby increasing its processing speed. Several areas on the disk store data such as user credentials, built-in app data, backup information, etc., that are inaccessible to the user, operating system, BIOS, or UEFI. Existing in different forms, Host Protected Area (HPA), Disk Configuration Overlay (DCO), or Accessible Max Address (AMA), these hidden disk areas mainly contain disk utilities for the device to function smoothly. It is of utmost importance that data from these disk zones be erased to prevent data leakage. However, a factory reset is incapable of fulfilling this purpose. The Hidden Risks: Recoverable Data Post Factory Reset A factory reset only removes the pointers to the file system, removing only access to the data and not the data itself. In most cases, the actual contents of the Mac drive still reside on the Mac, which is recoverable using freely available Mac data recovery software or through forensic in-lab services. The data traces left behind after a factory reset can comprise Personally Identifiable Information (PII), Protected Health Information (PHI), credit card information, etc., which, if leaked, can ruin decades of reputation for a business in seconds, and this is just the beginning. Data protection laws and regulations like EU-GDPR, HIPAA, CCPA, GLBA, etc., require businesses to erase personal data collected for processing after the retention period is over, the purpose has been served, or the individual has requested the removal of their data. Data removal has to be permanent beyond recovery from the entire Mac device, including inaccessible disk zones HPA, DCO, and other remapped sectors. Contrary to popular belief, a factory reset does not meet the secure erase requirements such as those needed by NIST 800-88, DoD 5220.22 M, or other regulatory guidelines. On Mac devices with SSDs, data is stored in memory blocks that also have the TRIM command enabled. While TRIM helps in optimizing the performance of SSDs, however, there is no way to ensure that the data has been permanently erased, as the TRIM command can be disabled by individuals, either intentionally or due to system configurations. Further, laws also mandate a proof of data destruction to be maintained by the organization in the form of a report or certificate of destruction. A software-based data erasure tool is highly recommended if the Mac devices are in a functional state and the business intends to reuse them; however, if the device is non-functional and cannot be repaired, then the device must be destroyed using physical destruction methods. The Real World Impact: When Factory Reset Fails Consider an organization that has no policies or mechanisms in place for data destruction. For reusing, repurposing, reselling, or donating their end-of-life devices, including Mac devices, the organization performs a factory reset on all the functional devices. These reset devices are either handed over to their new owners or discarded. Since the business-critical information still remains on these devices, the threat to data privacy lingers continually. The sensitive information can be recovered from all these devices using forensic tools or data recovery software, which can then be misused or can result in a data breach episode. The 2016 Morgan Stanley data breach case is one such example where confidential data such as social security numbers, passports, and credit card information, was recovered from decommissioned IT assets. These IT assets were not only not properly erased but also were resold to a third party without sanitization verification. This unauthorized access to personal data brought the organization penalties close to USD 100 million imposed by authorities, including the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) and Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), over a span of more than 5 years. One data breach caused Morgan Stanley operational downtime, penalties, and loss of customer trust. The Secure Solution: Software-Based Data Erasure Organizations must devise data destruction policies, including data retention guidelines, to ensure secure erasure is performed periodically without any scope for gaps in the process. The policies should also include guidelines on how data of varying sensitivity should be securely erased from different Mac devices and what tool should be used to perform secure data erasure. For example, the Mac devices containing data related to intellectual property or financial information that is critical must be sanitized using a certified data erasure tool like BitRaser before Mac devices are reallocated or refurbished. A software-based data erasure tool applies international data erasure algorithms like NIST 800-88 Clear, NIST 800-88 Purge, and DoD 5220.22 M (3 pass). It permanently erases data from all devices, including Mac's with erasure from inaccessible hidden disk areas. It also generates immutable erasure reports and a certificate of data destruction, which assist in complying with the governing data protection laws and regulations. Resetting Isn't Enough, Erasure is Essential Organizations have always been proactive in adapting to modern-day technology to gain more profits, gain a competitive edge, and establish their brand as progressive. However, many lag in assimilating this strategy when it comes to policy implementation in terms of data destruction. The risk of a data breach creeps over every business today, whether it is a startup or an enterprise. According to IBM's Cost of a Data Breach Report 2024, an average data breach costs USD 4.88 million. This cost is 10% higher than that mentioned in the IBM 2023 report. Clearly, there is a dire need for organizations to prevent data breaches by including secure data erasure as one of their cybersecurity strategies. To prevent this risk from turning into a tragic event, businesses must leverage data erasure programs to destroy data on their Mac devices, comply with the requirements of data protection laws, and build trust with their customers. Compliance is no longer optional, and a factory reset is not compliant. Filed Under: Apple, Guides, Laptops Latest Geeky Gadgets Deals Disclosure: Some of our articles include affiliate links. If you buy something through one of these links, Geeky Gadgets may earn an affiliate commission. Learn about our Disclosure Policy.
Gizmodo
11-05-2025
- Business
- Gizmodo
Amazon Restocks the Seagate 22TB External Hard Drive, Now 60% Off Original Price
This Seagate hard drive has very fast transfer speeds and excellent security, which makes it among the best on the market. This Sunday afternoon, Seagate has just re-stocked its popular 22TB external hard drive on Amazon. The 20TB variant had been sold out for the past a few days, and the 22TB variant was nowhere to be found. Good news is that Seagate has replenished its stock and the timing could not be more opportune: the 22TB drive is now available for a record low price tag of just $249, which is a massive discount from its usual $599 retail price. See at Amazon This is a record-low for an external drive of this enormous size, but it also trumps most other players and even used internal drives on sale. For comparison, the next step-up in Seagate's line after this one is currently on sale for $329 as the 24TB HDD. It might at first glance seem reasonable to splurge on the larger-capacity one, but if you break down the price by the number of terabytes, the 22TB one gives you far more bang for your buck. You can get it for $249.99, and you're only paying approximately $11.36 per terabyte, while the 24TB comes out to approximately $13.75 per terabyte. $11.36 per TB This Seagate external hard drive features USB 3.0 connectivity for fast data transfer and comes loaded with Seagate's Rescue Data Recovery Services which offers peace of mind should there be involuntary loss of data. Over 2,000 have been sold in one month alone, and it has a rating of 4.5/5 on over 200,000 reviews. Putting this offer into context with cloud storage services sheds its price into even sharper perspective: Professional cloud storage services generally charge monthly or yearly fees which can mount in no time. To put it in perspective, maintaining 22TB or more in the cloud often costs hundreds of dollars a year, and that's just for standard access. Within two years, the total cost of cloud storage far surpasses the initial price of a high-capacity external hard drive. Furthermore, with physical storage like the Seagate HDD, your data is entirely in your control, with no concern over account hacks, service outages, or terms-of-service changes. It's also worth noting that, while the 24TB model is tempting at $329, the price jump simply doesn't have the relatively minor increase in capacity to offer most customers. Unless you have a specific need for each and every terabyte, the 22TB drive is the more cost-effective option. The reality that the 20TB and 22TB models haven't been available for days is evidence of how rapidly smart buyers are snapping up these deals. Whatever the reason of this external hard drive discounts, consumers stand to benefit: If you've been waiting for the right moment to expand your local storage whether for backups, media libraries or professional archives, this is a rare opportunity that Amazon offers you. With recent stock shortages, don't wait. See at Amazon
