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PODCAST

The Backup Wrap-Up

W. Curtis Preston (Mr. Backup)

Formerly known as "Restore it All," The Backup Wrap-up podcast turns unappreciated backup admins into cyber recovery heroes. After a brief analysis of backup-related news, each episode dives deep into one topic that you can use to better protect your organization from data loss, be it from accidents, disasters, or ransomware. The Backup Wrap-up is hosted by W. Curtis Preston (Mr. Backup) and his co-host Prasanna Malaiyandi. Curtis" passion for backups began over 30 years ago when his employer, a

technology

All Episodes

46:39

Living Off the Land Attack: Hackers Using Your Own...

The Backup Wrap-Up ·

2026/03/16

A living off the land attack is one of the sneakiest techniques in a ransomware operator's playbook — and in this episode, Dr. Mike Saylor breaks down exactly what it is, how it works, and what your organization can actually do about it.Instead of bringing their own tools into your environment (which might trip your alarms), attackers just use what's already there. PowerShell. WMI. RDP. The same tools your admins run every single day. To your monitoring systems, it looks completely normal. That's

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43:38

New Research Exposes Password Manager Vulnerabilities...

The Backup Wrap-Up ·

2026/03/09

Password manager vulnerabilities aren't just about bad code — and a new research paper out of Zurich just proved it. Researchers analyzed three of the most popular password managers and found fundamental design flaws baked into the very architecture that's supposed to keep your credentials safe. Curtis and Prasanna break it all down and tell you what to do about it.If you've ever been that person who asks "but what if the password manager gets hacked?" — this episode is for you. And if you haven't

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43:57

What Is an Initial Access Broker — and Why Should You...

The Backup Wrap-Up ·

2026/03/02

What is an initial access broker — and why does it matter to your organization? In this episode, W. Curtis Preston and Prasanna Malaiyandi are joined by Dr. Mike Saylor of Black Swan Cybersecurity to break down the role of the initial access broker in today's ransomware attacks.Most people picture ransomware as a single bad guy with a keyboard. The reality is way scarier. There's an entire criminal supply chain out there, and the initial access broker is the specialist at the front of it. These are

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35:02

Ransomware as a Service: How Anyone Can Buy a...

The Backup Wrap-Up ·

2026/02/23

Ransomware as a service has turned cybercrime into a franchise business — and in this episode, Dr. Mike Saylor and I break down exactly how it works, who's buying, and why the buyer might end up as the patsy.If you thought ransomware was just a lone hacker writing code in a basement, this episode is going to change how you think about it. Ransomware as a service means that today, literally anyone — no technical skills required — can pay someone to launch a ransomware attack on their behalf. You hand

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32:30

The CryptoLocker Virus and the Birth of Modern...

The Backup Wrap-Up ·

2026/02/16

The cryptolocker virus was the attack that turned ransomware from a nuisance into a full-blown criminal industry — and in this episode of The Backup Wrap-up, we break down exactly how that happened. W. Curtis Preston (Mr. Backup) sits down with co-host Prasanna Malaiyandi and cybersecurity expert Dr. Mike Saylor to trace the full evolution of ransomware and explain why CryptoLocker was the turning point.If you've ever wondered how ransomware went from fake pop-up messages to billion-dollar criminal

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44:32

A Brief History of Ransomware

The Backup Wrap-Up ·

2026/02/09

A history of ransomware is more than just dates and names—it's the story of how criminals evolved from mailing infected floppy disks in 1989 to running billion-dollar enterprises that cripple entire organizations. On this episode of The Backup Wrap-up, I sit down with Dr. Mike Saylor, my co-author on "Learning Ransomware Response and Recovery," to trace this evolution from the AIDS Trojan to today's sophisticated double extortion attacks.We talk about how ransomware went from requiring physical

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41:09

How Ransomware Works: The Five Objectives of Every...

The Backup Wrap-Up ·

2026/02/02

Understanding how ransomware works is critical for anyone responsible for protecting their organization's data. In this episode of The Backup Wrap-up, we examine the five core objectives that drive nearly every ransomware attack - from initial access through the final ransom note delivery.I'm joined by my co-author Dr. Mike Saylor as we kick off what's going to be a comprehensive series on our new book, "Learning Ransomware Response and Recovery." We start at the beginning: how do these attackers

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32:17

Disk Backup Security - Disk Make Things Worse?

The Backup Wrap-Up ·

2026/01/26

Disk backup security is the weak link that ransomware attackers exploit every day—and most backup admins don't even realize it. In this episode, Curtis and Prasanna examine how the move from tape to disk-based backups created an unintended security gap that threat actors now target as their first priority.The transition to disk brought real benefits: deduplication made storage affordable, replication eliminated the "man in a van" for offsite copies, and backup verification became practical. But disk

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31:07

What Is Ransomware and Why Should You Care?

The Backup Wrap-Up ·

2026/01/19

What is ransomware, and why does it remain the number one threat to businesses of all sizes? In this episode of The Backup Wrap-up, W. Curtis Preston and Prasanna Malaiyandi break down the fundamentals of ransomware attacks and explain why the question "what is ransomware" still gets searched tens of thousands of times each month.We cover the two main types of ransomware attacks: traditional encryption-based attacks where hackers lock your data and demand payment, and the newer double extortion

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30:33

Backup TCO: The Costs Nobody Talks About

The Backup Wrap-Up ·

2026/01/12

What's your real backup TCO? Most organizations focus on software licenses, hardware, and cloud storage when budgeting for backup infrastructure. But those are just the visible costs. The true backup TCO includes something far more expensive: the humans managing it all.In this episode, Curtis and Prasanna break down the complete picture of backup costs. They explore why soft costs—the labor, the troubleshooting, the daily monitoring—often exceed what you're paying for technology. With studies

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29:19

Why Ransomware Attacks on Backups Should Terrify You

The Backup Wrap-Up ·

2026/01/05

Ransomware attacks on backups have reached epidemic levels, with 96% of attacks now targeting backup infrastructure. In this episode of The Backup Wrap-up, Curtis Preston and Prasanna Malaiyandi break down the alarming statistics and explain why cybercriminals have made your recovery systems their primary target.The math is simple: if attackers destroy your backups, you're far more likely to pay the ransom. And with only 25% of organizations feeling prepared for ransomware attacks on backups, the

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31:09

Building Your Cyber Security Team: Blue Teams, Red...

The Backup Wrap-Up ·

2025/12/22

Building a cyber security team isn't optional anymore; it's the difference between recovering from ransomware and going out of business. In this episode, Curtis and Prasanna explain why hardening your backup infrastructure is only half the battle. You need professionals who know how to configure XDR systems without drowning you in false positives, blue teams to defend your environment, and red teams to test whether your defenses actually work. They cover the role of MSSPs, incident response

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34:47

Building a resilient backup system

The Backup Wrap-Up ·

2025/12/15

Want to know how to build an resilient backup system that protects from ransomware attacks? In this episode, Curtis and Prasanna go beyond the basics to discuss four critical security features every modern backup system needs. Building on feedback from their previous episode about backup fundamentals, they cover multi-factor authentication (and why SMS doesn't cut it anymore), secure remote access methods, role-based access control, and when to bring in managed security service providers. The hosts

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34:38

10 Must-Have Features of Any Backup System

The Backup Wrap-Up ·

2025/12/08

Every backup system needs certain design elements to actually work when disaster strikes. In this episode of The Backup Wrap-up, W. Curtis Preston (Mr. Backup) and Prasanna Malaiyandi break down the 10 non-negotiable components your backup system must have. They cover the 3-2-1 rule, automated scheduling, recovery testing, defined RTOs and RPOs, backup security, SaaS protection, documentation, retention policies, monitoring, and endpoint backup. If your backup system is missing any of these

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31:30

The Death of the 3-2-1 Rule: Enter 3-2-1-1-0

The Backup Wrap-Up ·

2025/12/01

The 3-2-1 rule is dead. Long live 3-2-1-1-0. For decades, the 3-2-1 rule has been the gold standard for backup strategies - three copies of your data, on two different media, with one copy somewhere else. But ransomware killed it. Not because the fundamentals were wrong, but because threat actors learned to target backups specifically. In this episode, Curtis and Prasanna explain why the traditional 3-2-1 rule isn't enough anymore and what the evolution to 3-2-1-1-0 means for your backup strategy

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35:08

How to Set Realistic Recovery Point Objective (RPO)...

The Backup Wrap-Up ·

2025/11/24

Want to know how much data you're really willing to lose? We're breaking down recovery point objective RPO - the agreement about how much data loss you can accept, measured in time. Most organizations have RPOs that are pure fantasy, claiming they can only lose an hour of data when they're backing up once a day. Curtis and Prasanna discuss why RPO matters, how ransomware scenarios can force you to accept more data loss than planned, and the difference between your stated RPO and your actual backup

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32:58

Recovery Time Objective vs Reality: Closing the Gap

The Backup Wrap-Up ·

2025/11/17

Most IT teams can't meet their recovery time objective—and they don't even know it. In this episode of The Backup Wrap-up, Curtis and Prasanna explain why your RTO is probably fantasy, who should actually be setting it (hint: not you), and what recovery time actual really means. We cover the critical difference between objectives and reality, why testing is non-negotiable, and how to have honest conversations with business leadership about what's achievable. Learn about DR drills, chaos engineering,

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59:38

Microsoft 365 backup is NOT an option - It's mandatory

The Backup Wrap-Up ·

2025/11/10

Many organizations believe that Microsoft 365 backup is handled by Microsoft. That's a dangerous misconception. In this episode, W. Curtis Preston (Mr. Backup) and Microsoft 365 expert Vanessa Toves explain why you own your data and are responsible for protecting it—not Microsoft. They discuss the limitations of the recycle bin, why retention policies aren't backups, and what can go wrong when organizations assume SaaS means hands-off data protection. Whether you're running a Fortune 500 company or

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33:56

Detect Ransomware Before It Destroys Your Business

The Backup Wrap-Up ·

2025/10/27

Ransomware detection is more complex than most organizations realize. In this episode, cybersecurity expert Mike Saylor breaks down the real-world signs of ransomware attacks—from users complaining about slow computers to smart devices acting strangely. We explore polymorphic malware that changes based on its target, the risks posed by managed service providers using shared credentials, and why milliseconds matter in ransomware detection and response. Mike explains the difference between EDR, XDR,

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25:18

The ArcGIS Hack That Turned Backups Into a Malware...

The Backup Wrap-Up ·

2025/10/20

This episode examines a sophisticated ArcGIS hack that remained undetected for 12 months. The threat group Flax Typhoon compromised an ArcGIS server by exploiting weak credentials and deploying a malicious Java extension that functioned as a web shell. The attack highlights critical failures in traditional security approaches: the malware was backed up along with legitimate data, signature-based detection tools completely missed the custom code, and the lack of multi-factor authentication made the

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343 results

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