---
id: backups.does-data-backup-protect-against-ransomware
url: https://storagestudio.us/faq/backups/does-data-backup-protect-against-ransomware
category: "Backups & restore points"
subcategory: "Time Machine and backup strategy"
question: "Does Data Backup protect me from ransomware?"
alt_questions:
  - "ransomware backup Mac"
  - "Can malware delete my backups?"
  - "backup safe from encryption attack"
short_answer: "Partly. Versions let you restore files from before an attack, but backups on your own drive or account can still be deleted by anything with access. Delta Trust is built so nothing on your Mac can delete them."
tags: ["ransomware", "security", "strategy"]
related: ["https://storagestudio.us/faq/backups/is-data-backup-the-same-as-delta-trust", "https://storagestudio.us/faq/backups/should-i-back-up-to-two-places"]
applies_to: "all"
last_reviewed: 2026-10-01
---

# Does Data Backup protect me from ransomware?

It helps, with an honest limit. Because Data Backup keeps earlier versions, files that get encrypted or damaged can be restored from a point in time before it happened. But a backup on your own drive or your own cloud account can still be deleted by anything that has access to it — including malware running as you.

For backups that nothing on your Mac can delete or overwrite, there's **Delta Trust**, storage we run for that purpose. See [Delta Trust questions](https://storagestudio.us/faq/delta-drive/). Keeping one backup offline — a drive you unplug — also helps.