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How do we Build Powerful Defense with Data Storage (By Ning Yun)

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4 years ago

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Data Storage

A Cybereason report shows that 49% of enterprises who pay the ransom either get only part of their data back, or none at all

JOHANNESBURG, South Africa, October 21, 2022/APO Group/ — 

By Ning Yun, Director of Data Storage Department of Huawei SAR (Huawei.com) 

Ransomware is striking at an alarming rate. Information technology research and consultancy company Gartner predicts, by 2025, at least 75% of IT organizations will face one or more attacks. Refined hacking tools and extortion strategies have made ransomware the biggest threat to individual, enterprise, and national data security.

Constant ransomware attacks cause huge damage

When ransomware strikes, it steals and encrypts valuable data. Encrypted data can be decrypted only by paying the hackers a ransom. Hackers, working through darknets, usually demand Bitcoin to make the payment as difficult as possible to trace. The damage ransomware creates is great, as are hackers’ profits.

According to leading investment consulting firm Cybersecurity Ventures, by 2031, ransomware is expected to attack a business, consumer, or device every 2 seconds. In 2021, this number was only 11 seconds. Even at that lower frequency, that same year, global ransomware damages reached US$20 billion — 61 times more than in 2015 (US$325 million). The largest ransom — so far — was US$70 million. But do ransoms solve the problem? No. A Cybereason report shows that 49% of enterprises who pay the ransom either get only part of their data back, or none at all. 80% of enterprises who pay the ransom are targeted a second time. Ransoms are also not the only problem: ransomware damages brands, causes long service interruptions, exposes enterprises to legal liability, and more. Such collateral damage can be enormous: as much as 23 times the ransom.

  • In March 2021, hackers encrypted 15,000 devices belonging to an insurance corporation. Vast numbers of customer data files were at risk of being leaked. The company paid US$40 million to retrieve the data.
  • In May 2021, ransomware halted all the operations of an oil pipeline giant for 11 days. Gasoline prices in the country rose to their highest level in seven years, leading to panic buying. The company paid a ransom of US$4.4 million.
  • In April 2022, a leading car manufacturer had to cut its annual production by 500,000 vehicles following an attack on its suppliers which resulted in a 1.4 TB data leak.
  • In May 2022, two attack waves caused a country to declare a cyber security emergency. They damaged basic services like healthcare, and even international trade.

There are many more examples. Hackers target large, high-value enterprises and industries. Government, energy, transportation, finance, manufacturing, and healthcare are their main objectives, but no one is safe.

Ransomware trends to know

Ransomware is extremely good at disguise. It has many ways to get into your system, for example storage, phishing emails, Trojans, social networks, and malicious insiders. It is difficult to detect and defend against. A typical attack encrypts or deletes all local data copies and can even target disaster recovery (DR) centers, making it impossible to quickly restore data. What follows, according to a ZDNet report, is an average of 16 business days system downtime. The average cost to recover from an attack, calculated by Sophos, is US$1.85 million.

There are four important ransomware trends:

Hackers focus on large enterprises and infrastructure

Instead of launching broad campaigns, ransomware attacks now increasingly focus on high-value targets. The research that hackers need to do for this approach to work is difficult, time-consuming — weeks or even months! — and expensive, but the potential profits make it worthwhile. Elaborate attacks make even previously well protected organizations potential victims, and also threaten government departments.

  • Ransomware as a Service (RaaS)

Rapid development of network and information technologies as well as encrypted digital currencies has created a hotbed for malicious actors. Ransomware operators now sell ransomware-related services to other attackers through customized solutions, memberships, or subscriptions. This lowers the barrier to entry for launching ransomware attacks, resulting in explosive ransomware growth.

Double extortion becoming the new normal

Ransomware is not limited to encrypting data and demanding ransoms. Attackers also steal data, and threaten to leak it. Even if an enterprise has a recent backup, it still cannot risk a leak of confidential information and subsequent public scrutiny and compliance proceedings.

A typical attack encrypts or deletes all local data copies and can even target disaster recovery (DR) centers, making it impossible to quickly restore data

APT-like attack capabilities

Advanced Persistent Threat (APT) refers to a complex continuous network attack customized by expert attackers to take full advantage of a victim’s vulnerabilities. Ransomware attacks, featuring greater and greater precision and planning, are beginning to show a strong resemblance to APT attacks.

Data security needs

Complex ransomware poses a great challenge for many current defense measures. Traditional data security protection focuses on the network (such as the firewall and security gateways) and on hosts to prevent ransomware intrusions and limit spread. This, however, neglects ransomware’s ability to disguise itself and lurk in the system for a long time in order to get access permissions to a large volume of key data. In other words, once the system is infected, traditional data security protection is useless. A better solution is needed.

The Defense-in-Depth framework developed by defense contractor Northrop Grumman provides good ideas on how to move forward and build stronger protection. This approach to cybersecurity features five defensive mechanism layers: perimeter, network, endpoint, application, and data security.

  • Perimeter and network security protection, established at the network layer, defends using firewalls, sandboxes, and situation awareness.
  • Endpoint and application security protection, established at the host layer, defends using access control, security patches and audits, and antivirus software.

The last layer, data security, is where data storage comes in. In the modern, digital age, data storage needs to do more than just store data. It needs to serve as the last line of defense: protect data with anti-tamper technologies, detect abnormal I/Os generated by ransomware, and prevent data leaks using encryption technologies. In addition to all this, it needs to ensure it is possible to recover clean, uninfected data by keeping data copies in backup storage and in a physically isolated zone.

Building powerful ransomware defense with professional storage

Providing dual protection with production and backup storage, Huawei ransomware protection storage solution uses four key technologies to build a complete solution which prevents viruses from hiding and stealing or tampering with data: ransomware detection, data anti-tampering, air gap replication, and end-to-end data encryption. Let’s take a look at why dual protection and the four key features are so effective:

  • Dual ransomware protection with both primary and backup storage

In this solution, both primary and backup (OceanProtect Backup Storage) storage provide all-round ransomware protection features, ensuring the system always has a clean data copy for quick service recovery. OceanProtect Backup Storage also provides an ultra-fast recovery speed: up to 172 TB/hour, five times faster than the benchmark in the industry. This helps enterprises slash service downtime and economic losses.

  • Four key technologies for comprehensive protection

Ransomware detection (ransomware has nowhere to hide): Huawei ransomware detection and analysis feature delivers 99.9% accuracy for production and backup storage before, during, and after attacks. Before an attack, the storage works to intercept ransomware before it has a chance to strike. If an attack does still occur, the storage acts quickly to secure the system, working with security devices such as firewalls to isolate hosts that send abnormal I/Os, preventing ransomware from spreading to other hosts. After the attack, the storage examines data copies to ensure they are clean.

Data tampering prevention (data cannot be modified): WORM file system and secure snapshot technology block file tampering. The WORM system supports setting a protection period, preventing modification or deletion of production or backup data for the duration of the period. Read-only secure snapshots provide similar protection: they do not allow deletion or modification of data during a configured protection period.

Physical isolation (clean data copies are physically isolated): Air-gap technology enables storing a clean copy of production and backup storage data in a physically isolated zone. Even if — unlikely though it may be — both production and backup storage are compromised, the isolation zone will have a clean copy that can be used to quickly restore services. Setting the replication Service Level Agreement (SLA) will automatically replicate periodic data copies from the production or backup storage to the isolation environment. Since the replication link is active only during replication, the possibility of ransomware accessing data in the isolation zone is relatively low. For added security, the isolation zone storage also features multi-layer data protection, supporting anti-tamper features such as secure snapshots.

End-to-end encryption (data will not be leaked): Huawei storage ensures zero data leaks on the storage transmission network and storage through encryption of: protocol, production and backup storage, air-gap replication link, and remote replication transmission of data and backup copies. Even if hackers break the storage or intrude the storage network, they have no access to the confidential data thanks to the encryption deployment.

End-to-end encryption (data will not be leaked): Huawei storage uses end-to-end encryption technology to ensure no data leaks either on storage devices or on the storage transmission network. The encryption covers protocol, production and backup data, the air-gap replication link, and remote data replication. Even if hackers manage to enter a system, they will not crack confidential data.

Defending against ransomware

Huawei’s ransomware protection storage solution is working 24/7 around the world for large customers in energy, finance, transportation, manufacturing, and government.

Better safe than sorry. Installing ransomware protection after the fact is too late. A comprehensive ransomware protection storage solution is the best way to stop or mitigate ransomware.

For more information about how you can build powerful defense for your data, visit our website (https://bit.ly/3RRI74g).

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Huawei Enterprise.

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Congo Is Turning Reserves into Bankable Projects – and the Investment Window Is Opening

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4 hours ago

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June 24, 2026

By

Etu Energias

Eni-led LNG expansion and ongoing deepwater investment are pushing the Republic of Congo’s energy sector toward more bankable projects ahead of the Congo Energy & Investment Forum 2027

BRAZZAVILLE, Congo (Republic of the), June 23, 2026/APO Group/ –With LNG exports set to triple to 3 mtpa, upstream oil production targeting 500,000 bpd and a renewed push on local content, the Republic of Congo is positioning itself as one of Central Africa’s most investable hydrocarbon markets. Under the leadership of the newly-appointed Minister of Hydrocarbons, Stev Simplice Onanga, the country is prioritizing industry growth by balancing local content with reserve replacement and project advancement.

 

What sets Congo apart is not the scale of its reserves, but the pace at which those reserves are being turned into commercially viable projects. From Eni’s LNG expansion and TotalEnergies’ deepwater developments to brownfield optimization by Trident Energy and output growth at Ammat Global Resources, capital is flowing into projects with clearer monetization pathways and nearer-term returns.

Ahead of the Congo Energy & Investment Forum (CEIF) 2027 – the country’s leading platform for energy investment and partnerships – the story is shifting away from frontier potential toward bankable projects already under development.

Policy Reform Is De-Risking Investment

Congo’s investment case is being reshaped by the alignment of resource base, regulatory reform and project delivery. Established oil production, expanding LNG capacity and fiscal adjustments are gradually reducing above-ground risk.

Recent reforms led by the Ministry of Hydrocarbons and Société Nationale des Pétroles du Congo have added structure to the sector. The Gas Code, introduced in October 2025, formalizes fiscal terms for gas commercialization, while the Gas Master Plan prioritizes flaring reduction and gas-to-power deployment, targeting 1,500 MW by 2030.

A new upstream licensing round is also under consideration, aimed at attracting fresh capital into both mature and frontier acreage. Together, these measures are improving visibility across upstream, midstream and downstream segments, with recent project activity reinforcing the shift.

The Projects Driving the Next Cycle

Deepwater oil remains central to Congo’s production outlook, with operators progressing both new developments and brownfield optimization. TotalEnergies is advancing work at the Moho licence following the April 2026 Moho G discovery, backed by a $500–$600 million infill drilling program targeting about 40,000 bpd in incremental output.

Local independent Ammat Global Resources is targeting 70% production growth from its Loango and Zatchi fields, where reactivated wells and upgraded platforms have already lifted output by 75%. Perenco continues steady gains, adding roughly 6,000 bpd through its 2025–2026 drilling program.

Trident Energy, after acquiring an 85% working interest in the Nkossa and Nsoko II assets in 2025, is focused on extending field life through subsea optimization and redevelopment work.

While oil continues to anchor revenues, gas is rapidly emerging as Congo’s fastest-growing segment. Eni’s Congo LNG project delivered its first cargo from Phase 2 in February 2026, following the startup of the Nguya FLNG unit in December 2025. Together with Tango FLNG, capacity has risen from 0.6 mtpa to 3 mtpa. Trident Energy has also proposed an FLNG project aimed at adding further capacity across the country’s gas market. The project is expected to operate as shared infrastructure, allowing multiple operators to process gas from their respective fields. This creates an outlet for associated gas that might otherwise be stranded, supporting the country’s broader diversification goals.

Local Content Is Reshaping Investment Terms

Beyond upstream policy, Minister Onanga has positioned local content as a central pillar of Congo’s investment framework, and a key determinant of how capital is structured and deployed.

Decrees 2019-342, 343, 344 and 345 set requirements around subcontracting, workforce localization and training commitments, with the effect being a gradual shift in how projects are structured and how partnerships are formed. Operators are increasingly assessed not only on technical delivery but on in-country value creation, including partnerships with local firms and skills development. Logistics, maintenance and other service areas are increasingly channeled through domestic providers.

At CEIF 2027 – taking place June 1–3 in Brazzaville – attention will shift to what is moving forward and to the investors positioned to take part in that pipeline. Congo’s energy sector is no longer defined by potential alone: projects are moving, capital is being committed and policy is starting to catch up with activity on the ground.

As the Republic of Congo moves from reserves to revenue, the signal to investors is clear: this is already unfolding, not a future opportunity.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Energy Capital & Power.

 

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Afreximbank secures double honours at the 2026 International Association of Business Communicators (IABC) Gold Quill Awards for excellence in strategic communications

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4 hours ago

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June 24, 2026

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Afreximbank

The Award of Excellence for IATF2025 recognises the successful communications and stakeholder engagement programme delivered around the fourth edition of the Intra-African Trade Fair, Africa’s premier trade and investment event

CAIRO, Egypt, June 23, 2026/APO Group/ –African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) (www.Afreximbank.com) has been recognised with two prestigious honours at the 2026 International Association of Business Communicators (IABC) Gold Quill Awards, one of the world’s most prestigious awards programmes for strategic communications.

 

The Bank received an Award of Excellence in Special and Experiential Events category for the Intra-African Trade Fair 2025 (IATF2025) held in Algiers, Algeria and an Award of Merit in the Social Media category for its Afreximbank Social Media Campaigns, reaffirming Afreximbank’s commitment to delivering impactful communications that advance its mandate of promoting trade, investment and industrialisation across Africa and the Caribbean.

We are delighted to receive these two awards, which attest to the expertise, creativity and efficiency of Afreximbank’s communication

The Award of Excellence for IATF2025 recognises the successful communications and stakeholder engagement programme delivered around the fourth edition of the Intra-African Trade Fair, Africa’s premier trade and investment event. IATF2025 brought together governments, businesses, investors, buyers, sellers and entrepreneurs from across Africa and beyond, creating a platform for trade and investment opportunities while advancing the objectives of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA). The communications campaign played a pivotal role in driving global awareness, stakeholder participation, media visibility and engagement before, during and after the event, while showcasing the scale, ambition and dynamism of African enterprise and reinforcing a positive narrative about Africa’s capacity to trade, industrialise and compete on the global stage. Over 120,000 delegates attended IATF2025 in person and virtually, with deals worth over US$50 billion recorded.

The Award of Merit for Afreximbank Social Media Campaigns recognises the Bank’s strategic use of digital platforms to engage stakeholders, amplify its developmental impact and elevate conversations around trade, industrialisation, economic integration and investment opportunities across Africa and the Caribbean. Through a combination of compelling storytelling, thought leadership content, executive advocacy, multimedia production and real-time event coverage, Afreximbank’s social media platforms have continued to expand their reach and influence among policymakers, businesses, investors, development partners and the wider public. Among these platforms is the Afreximbank TV, a digital TV channel that is wholly owned and managed by Afreximbank, whose fifth edition was celebrated with dedicated coverage of IATF2025, providing live coverage of the activities to both pan African and global audiences.

Anne Ezeh, Director & Global Head, Communications and Events at Afreximbank commented: “We are delighted to receive these two awards, which attest to the expertise, creativity and efficiency of Afreximbank’s communications. As a pan African multilateral financial institution, we see storytelling as a powerful tool for advancing our mission — ensuring our initiatives, events, programmes and key announcements not only inform, but also inspire confidence, deepen engagement and amplify Africa’s transformation. These awards reinforce our resolve to continue delivering world-class communications that elevate African voices and projects a bold and authoritative narrative of the continent.”

Ms. Ezeh added that through innovative storytelling, digital engagement and integrated campaigns, the Bank will continue to amplify the impact of its programmes and partnerships  to project a more authentic narrative of Africa, one defined by opportunity, innovation, resilience and growing influence in the global economy.

For more than five decades, the IABC Gold Quill Awards have recognised excellence in strategic communications globally, celebrating programmes and campaigns that demonstrate measurable impact, innovation, creativity and outstanding execution. Widely regarded as the pinnacle of achievement in the communications profession, the awards are judged through a rigorous and independent evaluation process conducted by experienced communication leaders from around the world.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Afreximbank.

 

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Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) Institute Unveils 2025 Annual Report During Group Annual Meetings in Baku

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5 hours ago

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June 24, 2026

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IsDBI

In 2025, IsDBI significantly expanded its footprint in Islamic finance transformation, approving 25 new technical assistance projects valued at US$4.14 million and completing 19 projects worth US$3 million

BAKU, Azerbaijan, June 23, 2026/APO Group/ —

The Islamic Development Bank Institute (IsDBI) (https://IsDBInstitute.org) has released its 2025 Annual Report during the 2026 IsDB Group Annual Meetings held in Baku, Azerbaijan, showcasing a year of expanded impact in Islamic finance transformation, innovative solutions, and capacity development.

 

The report highlights how IsDBI strengthened its role as a global knowledge leader by advancing innovative solutions and scaling support to Member Countries through knowledge-based interventions, Islamic finance grants, and strategic partnerships.

In 2025, IsDBI significantly expanded its footprint in Islamic finance transformation, approving 25 new technical assistance projects valued at US$4.14 million and completing 19 projects worth US$3 million, supporting countries in strengthening regulatory frameworks and promoting inclusive financial systems.

Since 2013, the Institute’s interventions in this regard have reached over US$27.57 million across 181 projects benefiting more than 34 countries, underlining its sustained contribution to development outcomes across the Islamic world.

I am pleased to note that the Institute has continued to strengthen its unique role in the global development ecosystem

The Annual Report highlights major progress in IsDBI’s three flagship transformative projects, namely Awqāf Free Zones, Digital Postal Islamic Financial Services, and Smart Countertrade System, which have all advanced to pilot-ready stages. These initiatives aim to address global challenges such as financial inclusion, food and energy security, and trade resilience.

Furthermore, the Institute accelerated its focus on digital innovation in Islamic finance, enhancing its Islamic Finance Artificial Intelligence Assistant (IFAA) and hosting its first AI Hackathon on Islamic Finance, engaging more than 40 teams in developing cutting-edge solutions aligned with industry standards.

Human capital development in Islamic finance also remained a cornerstone of IsDBI’s work in 2025, with the delivery of over 20 training programs reaching around 500 professionals across Member Countries. A key achievement in this area was the Entrepreneurial Mindset Development Program, a flagship initiative equipping emerging leaders from 20 countries with innovation-driven and values-based entrepreneurship skills. The program was designed and implemented in collaboration with Prince Mohammed Bin Salman College of Business and Entrepreneurship, Saudi Arabia.

The Institute also strengthened its thought leadership through flagship publications, global partnerships, and digital engagement, reinforcing its position as a leading voice in Islamic economics and finance.

Commenting on the issuance of the Annual Report, Dr. Sami Al-Suwailem, Acting Director General of IsDBI, said: “I am pleased to note that the Institute has continued to strengthen its unique role in the global development ecosystem by bridging knowledge creation, building human capital, and designing innovative solutions to address economic challenges.”

The 2025 Annual Report is accessible on IsDBI website here (https://isdbinstitute.org/product/isdbi-annual-report-2025/).

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Islamic Development Bank Institute (IsDBI).

 

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