LTO tapes are a high-capacity, magnetic tape storage solution used for long-term data retention. It is a preferred choice for industries like finance, healthcare and media due to its reliability and cost-efficiency. With generations spanning from LTO-1 to LTO-10, each new release brings higher capacities, faster speeds and enhanced security features.

LTO technology offers multiple benefits, making it a superior choice for backup and archiving:

• High Capacity & Scalability: LTO-10 can store up to 75TB (compressed), reducing storage costs.
• Cost-Effective: Lower total cost of ownership compared to disk-based storage solutions.
• Air-Gapped Security: Provides a physical separation from online threats, protecting against ransomware.
• Fast Data Transfer Speeds: LTO-10 delivers up to 1,200MB/s compressed speeds for quick backup and recovery.
• Long-Term Durability: last over 30 years, making them ideal for archival storage.
• Backward Compatibility: Read and write support for previous generations, ensuring flexibility.

Despite the rise of cloud storage and flash-based solutions, Ultrium tape remains an essential component of modern data storage strategies. Tapes offer unique advantages in terms of cost, capacity, energy efficiency, and security that are difficult to match with other storage technologies.

Looking ahead, the role of tape is likely to grow, particularly as organisations grapple with the increasing risks of cyberattacks. Tape’s air-gapped nature—being offline when not in use—provides a critical layer of security against ransomware and data breaches. Furthermore, the LTO consortium's roadmap ensures continued innovation, with upcoming generations poised to offer even greater storage capacities and faster.

Use Tape to Stop a Ransomware Attack

Tape storage has been used for decades as a reliable backup solution for businesses of all sizes.  As the frequency and severity of ransomware attacks continue to increase, businesses are constantly seeking ways to protect their data from these malicious attacks. One solution that has gained popularity in recent years is the use of tape libraries.

A tape library is a storage system that utilises magnetic tapes to store large amounts of data. The tapes are stored in a robotic tape library system that can automatically retrieve and load them into tape drives as needed. This system offers several advantages over traditional disk-based storage, including lower cost, greater durability, and better long-term storage capabilities.

But how does a tape library provide ransomware protection?

However, as cyberattacks continue to rise in frequency and complexity, tape storage is becoming an increasingly valuable tool for protecting data against external attacks. Here are some of the benefits of using tape storage against external attacks:

Air Gapped Protection Against Ransomware

The answer lies in the fact that tapes are offline storage devices and as such there is an Air Gap between the data and the network.  This means that even if an attacker gains access to a company's network, they will not be able to access the data stored on tape. This is because the only way to access the data on a tape is to physically retrieve the tape and load it into a tape drive. This makes it virtually impossible for ransomware to encrypt or destroy the data.