New R2D2 Technique Protects Files Against Wiper Malware, Secure Delete Apps

An anonymous reader writes: Purdue University scientists have developed a data protection technique called Reactive Redundancy for Data Destruction (R2D2) that can safeguard data sitting inside a virtual machine from modern data-wiping malware and even some secure file deletion methods. The technique was developed to protect enterprise systems, which are often running inside VMs. Researchers say the new technique was successful in preventing wiper malware such as Shamoon (v1 and v2), StoneDrill, and Destover from deleting data during their experiments, but it was able to prevent data deletion attempted with legitimate "secure delete" applications. When such operations are detected, R2D2 runs each one through a series of policies that evaluate the operation for known destructive patterns. If the scan triggers a warning, the VM creates a temporary checkpoint that a human operator can use as a system restore point.