Active Active Is Vulnerable to Ransomware

Active-active backup systems, also known as multi-active or bi-directional replication, involve maintaining two or more synchronized copies of data or systems that are actively used and updated in real-time. While they offer many advantages, such as load balancing, high availability, and fault tolerance, they can be vulnerable to ransomware attacks for several reasons:

1. Real-Time Synchronization: Active-active systems keep multiple copies of data or systems in sync in real-time. When ransomware infects one copy, it can quickly propagate to all synchronized copies, rendering all of them inaccessible.

2. Lack of Isolation: Ransomware typically targets file systems, databases, or applications, which means it can impact both the primary and backup systems simultaneously. There is no isolation between the active systems, making it challenging to contain the ransomware's spread.

3. Incomplete or Delayed Detection: If ransomware infiltrates one copy of the data or system, it may not be immediately detected. By the time it is discovered, it might have already affected multiple copies. Active-active systems may not provide the time lag or separation required to identify and contain ransomware.

4. No Air Gap: An "air gap" is an offline backup that is physically isolated from the primary system. Active-active systems do not have this isolation, and therefore, they lack the protection that an air-gapped backup can provide against ransomware attacks.

5. Limited Versioning and Recovery Points: Active-active systems typically do not provide a comprehensive version history or multiple recovery points that are disconnected from the primary system. If ransomware encrypts data, it can affect all synchronized copies, including historical versions, making recovery challenging.

6. Rapid Data Overwriting: Ransomware often encrypts and overwrites files with encrypted versions. In active-active systems, these changes are rapidly synchronized to all other copies, making it difficult to recover unaltered data.

7. Administrative Privileges: Ransomware can exploit administrative credentials to propagate across synchronized systems. If an attacker gains control over the administrative accounts, they may manipulate the systems' configurations and data.

Many cloud architects aim for high availability but overlook ransomware risks. Arpio's automated disaster recovery silently backs up your entire AWS setup and replicates vital assets in a separate AWS account. With tight security controls, Arpio ensures a safe recovery environment if your primary account faces threats.

Arpio provides comprehensive AWS backup services, safeguarding your data and infrastructure against regional outages, ransomware, and more, guaranteeing a smooth path to recovery.

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