According to one embodiment, a system includes a media storage device, a processor, and logic integrated with and/or executable by the processor. The logic is configured to cause the processor to determine a write rate for the media storage device or a portion thereof based on one or more factors, the write rate ranging from zero to a maximum possible write rate for the media storage device or the portion thereof. The logic is also configured to cause the processor to receive a write request to write data to the media storage device or the portion thereof and write the data to the media storage device using the determined write rate. Other systems, methods, and computer program products for defending against ransomware attacks are presented according to more embodiments.