NTT SmartConnect Launches 'AI Ransomware Protection' Menu for its Cloud Storage Service 'Smart Storage'

NTT SmartConnect Corporation (Headquarters: Osaka City, Osaka Prefecture; President: Kento Miyaoku; hereinafter "NTT SmartConnect") announced today that it has newly launched an "AI Ransomware Protection" menu for its cloud storage service, "Smart Storage." As the damage from ransomware and unknown cyberattacks becomes more severe, conventional countermeasures are finding it difficult to provide adequate defense, making it an urgent task for companies to ensure reliable data protection and build rapid recovery systems. The "AI Ransomware Protection" menu is a solution where an AI model built into the storage detects ransomware attacks in real-time and protects the data. By adding autonomous protection at the storage layer to conventional endpoint and network layer countermeasures, it becomes possible to protect customers' systems more robustly. 1. Background and Purpose Recently, cyberattacks targeting companies, particularly damage caused by ransomware, have become serious, developing into situations that threaten not only data encryption but also business continuity itself. Unknown malware (zero-day attacks) is also increasing, and there are more cases where conventional pattern-matching countermeasures alone cannot prevent them. To solve these issues, NTT SmartConnect has launched the "AI Ransomware Protection" menu utilizing AI behavior detection in "Smart Storage." By using this service, even if ransomware intrusion is allowed, the damage is minimized at the storage layer, achieving rapid and safe data recovery. 2. Overview and Features The "AI Ransomware Protection" is a solution that protects data by detecting ransomware attacks in real-time against the "Smart Storage" volumes used by customers. The main features are as follows: 1) Highly accurate and real-time attack detection AI constantly monitors the behavior of storage I/O (file entropy, file extensions, sudden spikes in IOPS, etc.). It is equipped with a pre-trained AI model capable of accurate detection immediately upon introduction and is effective even against unknown zero-day attacks. Because it operates on the storage, you can use the low-latency detection function without conflicting with client anti-malware software. 2) Minimization of damage through automatic snapshot capture When a ransomware attack (a threat such as file encryption) is detected, it immediately and automatically captures a snapshot to protect the data before the damage expands. Furthermore, an email notification is sent to pre-designated administrators upon detection. 3) Secure data retention and rapid recovery in read-only areas The captured snapshot area is "read-only," so it cannot be written to (encrypted) by ransomware. Customers can select an arbitrary restore point from regularly or immediately captured snapshots and flexibly recover data on a file-by-file basis. [Image omitted] 3. Provision Start Date Monday, March 30, 2026 4. Smart Storage Service Site This menu is an optional service and requires a contract in conjunction with the basic service. Service specifications and pricing tables can be checked from the following site. Smart Storage: [Link truncated]