DE 
Strictly speaking, a backup solution is of course not a protection against ransomware, but a protection against the negative consequences or a way to mitigate these consequences. 😉
But now to the topic: Veeam Hardened Repository is an exciting solution for securing backups against ransomware attacks because of its robust set of features designed to protect data and ensure its integrity.
Immutable backups, from a technical perspective, work by employing a combination of storage technologies and access controls to prevent modifications and deletions of backup data for a predefined period. The primary technology used to achieve immutability is Object Lock, which is available on certain storage platforms like Amazon S3 and other S3-compatible storage systems. Here is a step-by-step explanation of how immutable backups work:
- Backup creation: When a backup is created using Veeam Backup & Replication, the backup data is stored as objects in a compatible storage system that supports Object Lock, such as Amazon S3 or other S3-compatible storage solutions.
- Object Lock configuration: When configuring the backup repository, the user enables Object Lock and defines a retention period for the immutability. The retention period determines the duration for which the backup data will be protected from modifications and deletions.
- Write Once, Read Many (WORM): Once the backup is stored in the Object Lock-enabled storage, the storage system applies a WORM (Write Once, Read Many) policy to the data. This policy ensures that the data can only be written once and read multiple times, but cannot be modified or deleted until the retention period expires.
- Access control: To further strengthen the immutability of backups, access controls are put in place to prevent unauthorized users from changing the retention settings or deleting the data. This is typically achieved through role-based access control (RBAC), which restricts permissions based on user roles.
- Retention expiration: When the retention period expires, the immutability protection is automatically lifted, and the backup data can be modified or deleted as needed. Administrators can also extend the retention period if necessary.
In summary, immutable backups work by leveraging storage technologies like Object Lock and access controls like RBAC to prevent data modifications and deletions during a specified retention period. This approach helps ensure that backup data remains unaltered and safe from ransomware attacks or accidental deletions, allowing organizations to recover their systems confidently.
