What Can We Learn From The Rackspace Ransomware Attack?
The recent ransomware attack at Rackspace is a timely reminder that your cloud solutions are at risk too. So what can you do to minimise your risk as a business owner?
Before diving into the ransomware attacks, let’s look at who Rackspace actually is. Rackspace is one of the original hosting providers. Over 15 years ago, they were the company we first used to put our first customer onto a hosted email system. Since the emergence of Microsoft 365, the number of Rackspace users may have decreased, but they still have many customers.
So what exactly has happened at Rackspace?
On the 2nd of December, customers reported that they could not access their cloud email system. Unfortunately, outages happen all the time, even to cloud providers.
But later that same day, Rackspace issued another alert on their page, advising customers to move to Microsoft 365. It is extraordinary for a company to advise their customers to move AWAY from their services and onto their competitor’s cloud servers. This obviously caused much distress and panic among Rackspace customers.
Fast-forward 5 days, Rackspace issues another alert. Within the alert, they confirm that they have been the victims of a Ransomware attack. By the end of December, their customers had taken the initial advice and have since moved on to Microsoft 365.
So, why is this still relevant, even to those who didn’t have a Rackspace account? First, this Ransomware attack is a big reminder to businesses everywhere that no matter what cloud provider you use, the data and, ultimately, the service is your responsibility, not the providers.
Always makes sure that you have a contingency plan in place, just in case. Bad things can and will happen to cloud providers like Microsoft 365 and Rackspace. Please make no mistake; they will be a prime target for Cyber criminals because they can create a high amount of damage and hold the data for a lot of money.
However, it is not just cyber attacks you should be concerned about. For example, in March of 2021, there was a large fire at a data centre in France, which meant that many websites and cloud services were utterly offline.
What can you do, and what should you do?
- No matter what cloud service provider you use, you must have a cloud backup in place. For example, if your business uses Microsoft 365, We highly recommend a company called Redstor.
- Always ask, ‘What happens if?’ No question is too silly. You need to take responsibility for knowing what could happen if your cloud storage fails in any way.
- Ensure you have a plan in place for all scenarios. Having a Plan B or even Plan C is always a good option.
It is essential to back up your data because ransomware attacks happen daily to companies of all different sizes.
