Ransomware-Proof Backup

Make your backups ransomware-proof with immutable backup storage, purpose-built for Veeam.

With 96% of ransomware attacks now targeting backup data, it's clear that simply "having a copy" is no longer enough. When attackers compromise admin credentials or malware infiltrates production systems, they go straight for backup repositories to erase recovery options and force payment.

Ransomware-proof backups change the equation. They guarantee that even under full breach conditions, businesses always retain clean, recoverable data. Curious what makes a backup truly ransomware-proof, and how you can implement it before it's too late? Let's find out.

Ransomware-proof backup is a backup copy that cannot be altered, deleted, or encrypted—even if attackers gain full administrative control of production systems. It relies on storage-level immutability, strict infrastructure segmentation, and verified recovery testing to ensure that clean data is always available for restoration.
Ransomware-proof backups rely on multiple layers of protection to ensure recovery data cannot be altered, deleted, or encrypted, even during a full-scale data breach. They include:
- Immutable Backups: Stored in write-once-read-many (WORM) mode, these backups cannot be modified or erased, even by administrators with elevated credentials.
- Air-Gapped Backups: Physically or logically disconnected from the production network, air gaps prevent malware or attackers from reaching backup media during an attack.
- Offline Backups: Similar to air gaps, offline media (e.g., tape libraries) remain disconnected when not in use, eliminating the risk of compromise from a breached domain.
- Offsite Backups: Copies maintained in secure cloud or remote data centers provide geographic separation, protecting against regional outages or localized disasters.
- True Immutability: Unlike software-based locks or “read-only” flags, true immutability is enforced at the storage layer in compliance mode. Once written, data cannot be altered, encrypted, or deleted—not by administrators, not by attackers with stolen credentials, and not by malware.
- The 3-2-1-1-0 Rule: The gold standard for resilience.
  3: Maintain at least three copies of data.
  2: Store copies on two different types of media.
  1: Keep one copy offsite in a physically or geographically separate location.
  1: Ensure at least one copy is immutable at the storage layer.
  0: Verify zero backup errors through automated testing and recovery drills.
- Separation of Backup Software and Backup Storage: Backup infrastructure has a wide attack surface because it touches production systems across apps and data sources. To minimize risk, Zero Trust Data Resilience (ZTDR) requires segmenting the environment into resilience zones—Backup Software, Primary Backup Storage, and Secondary Backup Storage—each with least-privileged access.
- Backup Verification and Recovery Testing: Backups that aren’t tested can’t be trusted. Organizations should implement automated verification of backup integrity, run scheduled restore drills, and validate that RTO and RPO objectives are consistently met under real-world conditions.
- Independent Security Validation: Third-party penetration tests and external audits validate that even with stolen admin credentials or compromised domains, data in immutable storage remains untouchable. This external validation removes blind spots and provides confidence that backup protections are effective against sophisticated attacks.

Who Needs a Ransomware-Proof Backup Solution?

A ransomware-proof backup solution is essential for sectors with strict regulations, critical infrastructure, or life-dependent services that cannot afford failed backups under attack.

Healthcare
Patient safety depends on always-available medical records. GDPR and HIPAA-equivalent rules demand immutable, tested backups. Without ransomware protection, hospitals face service outages, regulatory penalties, and life-threatening consequences.
Financial Services
Banks and insurers handle high-value data under BaFin and ECB oversight. Data immutability and segmentation protect transactions, meet regulatory continuity requirements, and preserve market trust even under credential compromise.
Manufacturing
Production downtime equals millions lost. Immutable and verified backups restore ERP systems, design files, and OT/IT data quickly, reducing ransomware leverage while supporting standards like ISO 27001 for operational data resilience.
Retail and E-Commerce
Retail systems must process payments 24/7. Ransomware-proof backups protect POS and customer data with immutability and encryption, ensuring rapid recovery and GDPR compliance while keeping transactions flowing during an attack.
Public Sector and Education
Governments and universities store sensitive citizen and student data, but often run on legacy systems. Immutability ensures service continuity, meets GDPR requirements, and protects backups against ransomware with limited resources.
Energy and Utilities
Critical infrastructure operators face national security-level threats. NIS2 mandates resilience, making immutable, encrypted, and externally validated backups essential to maintain SCADA systems, billing, and operational continuity under attack.

Learn how MFL increased backup speeds by 15% and achieved NIS2 compliance with Ootbi—best enterprise storage for backups.

Read the Case Study

6 Steps on How to Build a Ransomware-Proof Backup Solution

1. Audit Your Current Backup Landscape
Map where data lives, how it’s copied, ho has access, and where attack surfaces exist. Identify weak points like writable shares, overprivileged accounts, or untested recovery workflows.
2. Define RTO/RPO Aligned to Business Impact
Work with stakeholders to calculate downtime costs and acceptable data loss. Use this to design backup frequency, retention, and restore performance targets that match financial and operational risk.
3. Select and Configure Immutable Storage
Deploy storage with compliance-mode immutability and enforce retention lock. Configure S3 Object Lock or WORM policies so that not even domain admins can purge backup copies once written.
4. Segment Backup Infrastructure into Zones
Place backup software, primary storage, and secondary storage into separate security domains. Restrict each with least-privileged access and secure protocols (e.g., S3 over HTTPS) to minimize the blast radius if software is compromised.
5. Automate Backup Verification and Recovery Drills
Integrate regular restore tests, checksum validation, and anomaly detection on change rates into daily or weekly operations. Ensure backup performance consistently meets the RTO/RPO defined in step 2.
6. Integrate Backup into Incident Response
Treat backup as a core part of your security playbook. Establish predefined workflows for ransomware scenarios so recovery is immediate and scripted.

Ransomware-Proof Backups with Ootbi (Out-of-the-Box Immutability)

Ransomware-proof Ootbi by Object First delivers secure, simple, and powerful on-premises backup storage for Veeam customers with no security expertise required.

Immutability with Zero Access to Destructive Actions: No matter how deep attackers get into your system, they can't corrupt, delete, or encrypt your backup files.
Proven Data Resilience: Don't just take our word for it—Ootbi has been repeatedly third-party tested, with published results.
CISA Secure by Design: Object First has pledged to follow and implement government-trusted security best practices to combat evolving cyber threats.

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