Protecting Your Data: Advanced Ransomware Defense with Azure NetApp Files

 

Ransomware attacks continue to be one of the most damaging threats to modern IT infrastructures, encrypting data and sabotaging business continuity. For mission-critical workloads running on Azure, protecting your storage layer is essential and Azure NetApp Files (ANF) provides built-in ransomware safeguards that help you defend against, detect, and recover from these attacks

In this blog, you’ll learn how Advanced Ransomware Protection in Azure NetApp Files works, how to configure it, and best practices to respond effectively to threats.

What Is Advanced Ransomware Protection in Azure NetApp Files?

Advanced Ransomware Protection is a storage-level defense capability built into Azure NetApp Files that uses machine learning to detect anomalous access patterns and file behavior that resemble ransomware activity. When a threat is detected, ANF uses built-in snapshot mechanisms to help you analyze and recover your data.

Unlike traditional antivirus scanning, this feature continuously learns from:

• File extension types within volumes
• Data entropy patterns
• I/O and access patterns

This enables the system to understand “normal” behavior and alert you when something deviates from expected patterns. 

Enable Azure NetApp Files Advanced Ransomware Protection

Register the Feature (Azure CLI)

Run the following commands to register the Advanced Ransomware Protection feature:

az feature register --namespace Microsoft.NetApp --name ANFAntiRansomware
az feature show --namespace Microsoft.NetApp --name ANFAntiRansomware

Ensure the feature state shows Registered before proceeding.

Enable Protection During Volume Creation

When creating a new Azure NetApp Files volume (NFS, SMB, or Dual-Protocol):

• Go to Create Volume

• On the Basics tab

• Set Advanced Ransomware Protection to Enabled

Verify Protection Status

After the volume is provisioned:

• Open the volume in the Azure portal

• Check the Overview page

• Confirm Advanced Ransomware Protection = Enabled

Managing Ransomware Protection

From the Azure NetApp Files portal, you can:

• Pause Protection – Temporarily stop monitoring

• Resume Protection – Restart ransomware detection

• Disable Protection – Permanently turn off the feature for the volume

Azure Cloud shell commands to enable the feature;

# Login to Azure

az login

# (Optional) Set the subscription

az account set --subscription <SUBSCRIPTION-ID>

# Register Azure NetApp Files resource provider

az provider register --namespace Microsoft.NetApp

# Register Advanced Ransomware Protection feature

az feature register --namespace Microsoft.NetApp --name ANFAntiRansomware

# Check feature registration status

az feature show --namespace Microsoft.NetApp --name ANFAntiRansomware

# (Recommended) Re-register the provider after feature registration

az provider register --namespace Microsoft. NetApp