Quest Unveils Ransomware Recovery Advancements

Summary

Quest Software has released new tools to help organizations combat ransomware attacks. These include Security Guardian Shields Up, which freezes changes to Active Directory objects to disrupt attacks, and Disaster Recovery for Identity, which enables rapid AD restoration. These solutions aim to improve an organization’s ability to proactively stop attacks and recover quickly.

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** Main Story**

Alright, let’s talk about ransomware. It’s a beast, right? And it just keeps getting smarter, which means we all need to up our game when it comes to cybersecurity.

That’s why Quest Software’s recent updates are worth paying attention to. They’ve rolled out some new features focused on not just detecting ransomware, but actively stopping it and ensuring a quick recovery. As John Hernandez at Quest puts it, it’s about more than just knowing when you’re hit – it’s about preventing the hit in the first place and bouncing back fast.

Freezing Active Directory in its Tracks

So, what’s new exactly? Well, one of the coolest additions is “Security Guardian Shields Up”. Think of it like a panic button for your Active Directory. It lets you temporarily freeze any changes to those super-critical “Tier 0” objects. Why is that important, you ask? Because a lot of ransomware attacks rely on moving laterally through your systems, spreading like wildfire. By freezing those key objects, you can effectively cut off the attacker’s path and stop the ransomware in its tracks.

It’s a proactive move, and honestly, a clever one. I remember one time, not that long ago, a client of mine didn’t implement the correct Active Directory protocals. Guess what? They got hit by ransomware, and it was rough; they nearly went out of business. They were lucky though!

Disaster Recovery on Steroids

But what if the worst happens? Quest’s also amped up their disaster recovery capabilities with something called “Disaster Recovery for Identity”. Basically, it promises near-instant and secure restoration of your Active Directory, even if you’ve suffered a full-blown ransomware attack. Now, I know what you’re thinking: “Backup and recovery? Been there, done that.” But this is different. This bypasses the usual slow, clunky processes, letting you regain control and get back online ASAP. Let me tell you, when ransomware’s holding your systems hostage, every second counts.

The goal? Minimize downtime. Mitigate impact. Makes sense right?

A Unified Approach

Now, here’s the kicker. These features are all baked into Quest’s unified identity cloud platform. They say they’ve migrated petabytes of data and backed up billions of Entra ID objects. Their claim? They’ve helped customers slash their identity attack surface by over 99%. I’m not one to take marketing claims at face value, but those are some pretty impressive numbers. It also highlights something important, a unified approach, which is becoming increasingly important in our ever evolving IT ecosystem.

The idea is to streamline your security operations, making it easier to modernize identity management, prevent breaches, spot threats, respond quickly, and recover like a pro. It’s a holistic approach – prevention, detection, response, and recovery, all working together. And really, what more could you want?

The Bigger Picture

Look, we know that identity-based attacks are exploding. Those figures are just mind-boggling. And Gartner, they’re not wrong, when they point out that traditional security measures just aren’t cutting it anymore. That’s why they’re pushing for Identity Threat Detection and Response (ITDR) capabilities. Quest is stepping up to fill that gap, offering the kind of proactive protection and rapid recovery we need to stay ahead. It’s a tough landscape out there, and we’re all just trying to stay one step ahead of those pesky cybercriminals.