https://www.acronis.com/en-us/blog/posts/antimalware-backup-archive-scanning
Enhancing Security Without Compromising Data Integrity
In today’s cybersecurity landscape, protecting your data from malware and other threats is paramount. Acronis, a leader in cyber protection solutions, offers advanced content scanning capabilities that not only detect threats but can also modify content to ensure clean, malware-free backups. Let’s explore how Acronis content scanning works and its unique ability to modify content when necessary.
How Acronis Content Scanning Works
Acronis content scanning is a sophisticated process that examines backup archives for potential threats. Here’s how it operates:
- Centralized Scanning: Acronis Cyber Protect can scan full-disk backups at a centralized location, which can be in the Acronis cloud or on an on-premises server.
- Slice-by-Slice Analysis: Instead of scanning entire archives, Acronis technology can mount and scan individual slices of a backup, making the process more efficient.
- Detection of Modified Blocks: The system identifies modified blocks within mounted slices, focusing on areas that may contain potential threats.
- File-Specific Scanning: Once modified blocks are detected, Acronis scans the specific files corresponding to these blocks for viruses and malicious software.
- Regular Updates: Scans use the latest malware definitions, ensuring that even previously undetected threats can be identified in subsequent scans.
Content Modification Capabilities
What sets Acronis apart is its ability to modify content when threats are detected:
- Cured Slice Generation: Acronis can generate a “cured slice” that consists of user data from the mounted slice without the malicious files.
- Malware Removal: Administrators can delete malware out of infected backup slices, ensuring that only clean data is restored.
- Safe Recovery Points: The system indicates “safe recovery points” where no malware was detected, allowing for confident data restoration.
Benefits of Acronis Content Scanning and Modification
- Reduced Endpoint Load: By performing scans at a centralized location, Acronis reduces the computational burden on individual endpoints.
- Enhanced Rootkit and Bootkit Detection: The approach increases the likelihood of detecting deeply embedded threats that are often missed by traditional scans.
- Clean Data Restoration: By modifying content to remove threats, Acronis ensures that only clean data is restored, preventing reinfection.
- Efficient Scanning: Acronis’ technology is several times faster than competitors, thanks to its ability to quickly scan new slices after an initial scan.
The average content scanning time of Acronis Advanced Email Security is 30 seconds. This significant improvement allows the system to deliver rapid threat detection and response, contrasting sharply with traditional methods that can take up to 20 minutes for malware verdicts. Acronis achieves this efficiency through its advanced technology, which ensures that all email traffic is scanned quickly and comprehensively, enabling organizations to protect themselves from email-borne threats in real-time.
Conclusion
Acronis content scanning represents a significant advancement in backup security. By not only detecting threats but also modifying content to remove them, Acronis provides a comprehensive solution for ensuring the integrity and safety of your backed-up data. This approach allows organizations to maintain clean, malware-free backups without sacrificing efficiency or performance.
For IT administrators and cybersecurity professionals, Acronis content scanning offers peace of mind, knowing that their backup data is not only protected but can be cleaned of threats, ensuring safe and reliable restorations when needed.