Air gap has become one of the most overused and misunderstood terms in backup and recovery. In this episode, W. Curtis Preston and Prasanna explore what air gap really means, tracing its origins from the days when everyone used tape storage to modern virtual implementations. They discuss how true air gap required physical separation - tapes stored offsite at facilities like Iron Mountain - and why this gold standard is nearly impossible to achieve with today's connected backup systems.

The conversation covers modern alternatives including immutable storage, IAM-based protection, and simulated air gaps that disconnect network connections when not actively replicating. Curtis and Prasanna explain why ransomware has made air gap more important than ever, and provide practical guidance for evaluating vendor claims about air gap capabilities in cloud and hybrid environments.

The largest data breach in recent memory has exposed 16 billion login credentials across multiple databases, and we're here to help you understand what it means for your security. This massive exposure involves data stolen primarily through infostealer malware rather than a single company breach.

Join W. Curtis Preston, Dr. Mike Saylor, and Prasanna Malaiyandi as they break down this complex security incident. Learn why this largest data breach is actually a compilation of stolen credentials from various sources, how infostealer malware works, and why your browsing habits might be putting you at risk. The team discusses practical security measures including proper browser hygiene, multi-factor authentication best practices, and password management strategies. Mike shares eye-opening insights about session security and why having multiple browser tabs open during sensitive activities could compromise your accounts. Get actionable advice on protecting yourself from the fallout of this massive credential exposure.

This episode breaks down snapshot backup fundamentals, covering the key differences between traditional storage snapshots and cloud-based approaches. Curtis and Prasanna explain copy-on-write versus redirect-on-write methods, performance implications, and why some snapshot systems can degrade performance by up to 50%.

Learn about NetApp's redirect-on-write innovation, VMware's unique approach, and how AWS "snapshots" are actually more like traditional backups. The hosts discuss critical concepts like read-only snapshot properties, storage space management, and the importance of copying snapshots to create true backups that follow the 3-2-1 rule.

Whether you're managing traditional storage arrays or cloud infrastructure, this episode provides practical guidance on turning snapshots into effective backup strategies. Topics include performance optimization, immutable storage considerations, and real-world implementation challenges that every IT professional faces.

Human error has replaced hardware failures as the primary driver of data loss and restore operations in modern IT environments. This episode explores real-world examples of how both end users and administrators create the need for backup and recovery operations through accidental deletions, configuration mistakes, and poor processes. W. Curtis Preston shares war stories from his decades in the industry, including incidents involving accidental directory deletions, source code stored in temporary folders, and tape library disasters. The discussion covers how technology improvements like RAID and solid-state drives have made hardware more reliable, shifting the focus to human-related incidents. The hosts also examine insider threats and the importance of implementing proper controls around privileged access. Learn why understanding human error patterns is critical for designing effective backup and recovery strategies that account for the reality of how data actually gets lost.

Learn how to extract measurable ROI from your backups beyond traditional disaster recovery. Curtis and Prasanna explore proven strategies for extracting business value from backup infrastructure through test and development environments, security monitoring, compliance checking, and AI-powered analytics. Discover why the shift from tape to disk storage created new opportunities for ROI from backups, including instant restore capabilities and data mining applications. The hosts share real-world examples of organizations using backup data for threat detection, regulatory compliance, and business intelligence. From Veeam's AI integration to copy data management techniques, this episode reveals practical approaches to transform backup systems from cost centers into value generators. Whether you're struggling to justify backup expenses or seeking ways to leverage existing investments, these ROI from backups strategies can help extract maximum value from your stored data.

World Backup Day falls on March 31st - the day before April Fool's Day because not backing up your data is no joke. In this episode, hosts W. Curtis Preston and Prasanna Malaiyandi discuss alarming statistics about data loss and why proper backup strategies are essential for business survival.

The hosts break down the famous 3-2-1 backup rule and how it applies to both consumers and enterprises. They examine the growing threat of ransomware, including double extortion attacks where criminals not only encrypt your data but threaten to publish it. With 94% of companies that suffer major data loss failing to recover, and 70% of small businesses closing within a year of significant data loss, World Backup Day serves as a crucial reminder to implement robust backup strategies that include immutable storage and protection for often-overlooked SaaS applications.

Stories from this episode:

https://www.forbes.com/sites/tomcoughlin/2025/03/31/march-31-is-world-backup-day/

https://objectfirst.com/blog/world-backup-day-2025/

https://www.backupwrapup.com/peter-krogh-who-coined-the-3-2-1-rule-on-our-podcast/

You've found The Backup Wrap-up, your go-to podcast for all things backup, recovery, and cyber-recovery. In this episode, we tackle one of the scariest threats out there - ransomware targeting VMware ESXi environments. I'm joined by Prasanna Malaiyandi and our special guest Melissa Palmer, also known as @vmiss, who's an independent technology analyst and ransomware resiliency architect. We get into why virtualization environments are such juicy targets for attackers, how they're specifically going after vCenter and ESXi hosts, and why your backup strategy is probably missing some critical components. If you've got a virtualized environment, you need to listen to this. Melissa brings her unique perspective from both the virtualization and security worlds to help you protect your most critical infrastructure. So buckle up - this is an episode you can't afford to miss if you want to keep your VMware environment safe from ransomware attacks.

In this episode of The Backup Wrap-up, W. Curtis Preston breaks down the key VeeamON announcements from the VeeamON 2025 conference in San Diego. He highlights Veeam's focus on security and ransomware defense, including their new CrowdStrike integration and data resilience maturity model developed with McKinsey and MIT.

Curtis shares his excitement about Veeam's long-awaited Linux-based software appliance, which addresses a critical security vulnerability in Windows-based backup systems. He also discusses other major VeeamON announcements like their Anthropic partnership for AI-powered backup content search, Microsoft Intra ID support, and the ability to recover backups to Azure in under five minutes. Whether you're a Veeam customer or just interested in backup technology trends, this episode provides valuable insights into these significant VeeamOn announcements.