It’s easy to assume newer is better, but technology that has been around for decades or longer still has a place in cybersecurity. In some cases, it is difficult to hack and therefore less vulnerable. In others, it just continues to be the best option for a very specific purpose.
Many companies and government agencies still depend on the eight technologies described below to help protect systems and data, proving that sometimes the old way of doing things can best help protect against threats.
1. Tape isn’t dead
Magnetic tape is the new hot storage medium. Well, technically, it never left — tape is the lowest-cost option for long-term storage. It’s also a handy way to keep data out of the hands of attackers and safeguarded from ransomware. “Tape by nature is an offline storage media,” says Eric Bassier, senior director of product marketing at data storage manufacturer Quantum Corp. “Because it’s offline, it’s not susceptible to ransomware attacks and other cryptoware.”
He says that Quantum has seen a renaissance in tape use for offline storage in the data center because of this very issue. “Companies that have been moving away from using tape for tape backup are now realizing that they need at least one copy of data that is offline.”
