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Backup storage for financial services data

Protect your financial data with secure, on-premises backup storage designed specifically for Veeam

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In 2025, the median ransom demand for victims in the financial services sector reached $3 million, the highest of any sector.[1] Worse, the average breach now costs financial firms $5.56 million, second only to healthcare.[2]  

Most of that cost sits in ransomware recovery, not the ransom itself. Cybercriminals no longer just target production systems but actively hunt for backups to block recovery and force ransom payments. 

Object First delivers the most secure backup storage for financial services with Absolute Immutability. This means all financial data, from core banking records and transaction histories to claims archives and policyholder data, cannot be altered or deleted under any circumstances, even if all credentials are compromised. 

Financial institutions need a secure data storage solution

Regulated financial firms must keep customer records recoverable and audit-ready. Achieving this requires a dedicated backup target for secure financial data storage. Using shared production infrastructure is not enough to keep those records recoverable when ransomware strikes.  

These requirements are especially important for the following types of financial institutions, each of which faces unique challenges in protecting and retaining critical data.

  • Banks

    Banks run on core banking records, loan files, and transaction histories that must reconcile to the cent years later and satisfy regulatory audit requirements. A single corrupted or encrypted ledger can freeze payments and lending, so bank data backup must support rapid recovery while preserving an auditable copy of every transaction.

  • Credit unions and mutual financial institutions

    Credit unions, building societies, and other member-owned financial institutions hold large volumes of personally identifiable information (PII) and account data while operating under regulations such as National Credit Union Administration (NCUA) requirements in the United States, DORA in the European Union, and GDPR data protection obligations. Often operating with a small IT team, they need backup storage that is immutable by default that keeps member records secure, recoverable, and audit-ready without adding operational complexity.

  • Insurance companies

    Insurance companies keep claims archives, actuarial models, and policyholder PII for decades to meet retention, litigation, and regulatory demands. Insurance data storage has to preserve every record unchanged across that long horizon, so a restore in year 15 returns exactly what was written in year one.

  • Investment firms, broker-dealers, and security firms

    Investment firms, broker-dealers, and other securities firms must preserve trade records, client communications, and transaction data for years under regulations such as SEC Rule 17a-4 and FINRA Rule 4511 in the United States, and MiFID II recordkeeping requirements in the UK and EU. Their backup storage must protect records from alteration or deletion, maintain an auditable history, and preserve data throughout the required retention period.

  • Fintech and payment processors

    Fintech and payment processors generate transaction logs and cardholder data that fall in Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) scope, at volumes that strain tight backup windows. Fintech data storage needs high ingest speed and immutability together, so fast-moving payment data is captured and locked without slowing the pipeline.

  • Asset managers and wealth managers

    Asset managers and wealth management firms must retain client records, portfolio data, investment instructions, and business communications to satisfy SEC Rule 204-2, MiFID II and related UK recordkeeping regulations. Their backup storage must preserve data integrity, support long retention periods, and keep records recoverable and audit-ready throughout the retention period.

Compliance requirements for financial services data storage

Financial data is regulated more tightly than almost any other category, and several rules dictate how backup copies specifically must behave. A financial data storage solution must satisfy the storage-level requirements below, not just general security policies.

    • The EU's Digital Operational Resilience Act has applied to financial entities since January 2025. Article 12 requires documented backup policies scoped by data criticality, periodic testing of restore procedures, and recovery runs on ICT systems that are "physically and logically segregated from the source ICT system."[3]

Architecting secure backup storage for financial data 

A secure backup for financial data does more than tick a compliance box. The right backup solution for financial services protects revenue, satisfies examiners, and keeps a ransom off the table.  

Most institutions choose a hybrid backup architecture: on-premises backup for the fastest recovery of core systems, with cloud storage for disaster recovery and longer-term storage of data. This would include records that are not needed for day-to-day operations but must be retained for compliance reasons.  

Such an approach is also aligned with the ‘3-2-1-1-0 backup rule’: at least three copies of data on two different media types, with one copy stored offsite and at least one kept offline or immutable to prevent tampering. The final zero stands for zero restoration errors, verified through the regular testing that many regulations stipulate. 

Understanding cloud vs. on-premise vs. hybrid backups helps an organization build a storage setup that fits its recovery and compliance goals. 

Immutability – or Absolute Immutability?

A cornerstone of compliance is to maintain immutable backups, meaning that during a pre-defined time window, a backup cannot be altered or deleted. Care is needed here, though, because many systems that claim to offer immutable backups have hidden exceptions and loopholes. 

A solution to this is Absolute Immutability, which means that even the most privileged admin, or an attacker with access to backup storage, cannot modify or delete data. This level of protection can only be achieved with a backup storage system that is Secure-by-Design, with Zero Access to perform destructive actions, and that Zero Access must be verifiable through third-party testing. 

Key benefits of Absolutely Immutable backup storage for financial data

1. Fast recovery for payment and trading systems

In finance, downtime is measured in lost transactions and missed settlement windows. Absolutely immutable on-premises backup storage restores core banking, trading, and payment systems in hours rather than days because recovery runs on the local network rather than pulling terabytes back from the cloud. Faster restores mean less revenue is lost per hour of outage.

2. Tamper-proof, audit-ready records

Regulators and auditors expect firms to produce exact historical records on demand. Absolutely immutable backups preserve each record in the state it was written, with no way to quietly edit or delete it after the fact. That gives compliance teams evidence they can defend during a regulatory exam, rather than a record an auditor has reason to question.

3. Ransomware resilience when credentials fail

Cyber-insurers now ask whether backups are immutable before they quote, and increasingly before they renew. Showing evidence that backups are provably immutable answers one of the hardest questions on the application. It can further support better terms and remove a common reason claims are reduced or denied after an incident.

4. Simpler cyber-insurance underwriting

Cyber-insurers now ask whether backups are immutable before they quote, and increasingly before they renew. Showing evidence that backups are provably immutable answers one of the hardest questions on the application. It can further support better terms and remove a common reason claims are reduced or denied after an incident.

Case Study: Argus research mitigates future IT threats with Object First

Overview

Argus Research is an independent financial-market research firm headquartered in New York City, with more than 120 employees serving clients across North America, Europe, and Asia. As ransomware threats to backup infrastructure grew, the firm set out to harden its disaster recovery before an incident forced the issue.

The Challenge

Argus Research relied on a traditional SAN as its on-premises backup repository, backed by off-site disaster recovery systems. The setup worked, but the team identified a clear gap: it was not prepared for ransomware and other threats aimed directly at backups. They wanted stronger defenses in place before a major incident, not after one.

The Solution

The firm set four requirements: scalability for growth, backup integrity, modern security protocols for compliance, and a proactive posture against emerging threats. Argus Research selected Object First because of its straightforward implementation and the ongoing support of the Object First team, which meant they could gain immutable backups without added operational complexity.

The Results

With Object First, Argus Research gained Absolute Immutability that makes backup data ransomware-proof, flexible scalability, and strong performance through native Veeam integration. Regular updates keep the appliance ahead of new threats, giving the team confidence that its recovery data will hold when it is needed most. 

"Thanks to our partnership with Object First, we have peace of mind that our on-prem disaster recovery's integrity is iron-clad and will be there for us in the end." 

Tyler Jacobson 

Network and Security Analyst

Protecting financial data with Object First 

Object First delivers secure, simple, and powerful backup storage for Veeam customers, with no security expertise required. Built on Zero Trust architecture with Absolute Immutability, it is third-party tested and verified, and proven at enterprise scale. 

For financial services, that means verifiable data integrity for audits and post-incident investigations, fast on-premises recovery for core banking and payment systems, and ransomware resilience that holds even when admin credentials are compromised.  

With Object First, nobody, whether an administrator, an insider, or an attacker with stolen credentials, can alter or delete backup data. When backup storage is this secure, simple, and powerful, your institution is Simply Resilient. 

FAQ

What types of data should financial services firms back up?

Financial firms should back up core banking and transaction records, loan and account files, trade records and communications, claims archives, actuarial and policyholder data, cardholder data, and audit workpapers. Any record tied to a regulatory retention rule, or needed to restore operations after an attack, belongs in immutable, recoverable backup storage.

How can financial institutions secure data against ransomware?

The most reliable defense is a ransomware-proof backup with Absolute Immutability that attackers cannot alter, delete, or encrypt, even with stolen admin credentials. Backups must be kept separate from production data and securely segmented from software that cowrites to them; and they must be tested regularly for errors to ensure reliable recovery.

On-premises vs. cloud vs. hybrid backup: which is better for financial data?

On-premises backup gives the fastest recovery and full data sovereignty, cloud adds off-site resilience, and hybrid combines both. Most institutions choose hybrid: immutable on-premises copies for rapid restores of core systems, plus an off-site copy for disaster recovery and long-term retention of records that are not used day-to-day but required for compliance. Comparing cloud vs. on-premise vs. hybrid backup helps a firm choose the storage setup that fits its recovery goals.

What are the best practices for financial data backup and recovery?

Follow the 3-2-1 backup rule as a baseline: three copies, two media types, one off-site. Add one immutable copy and zero recovery errors to reach 3-2-1-1-0. Test restores on a schedule, isolate backups from production, and map retention to each regulation that applies to the firm.

Is Object First compliant with financial data regulations?

Object First supports the storage requirements behind major financial regulations. Its Absolute Immutability provides WORM-grade, non-rewriteable protection that maps to SEC Rule 17a-4(f), FINRA Rule 4511, and DORA Article 12 backup rules, among others. It gives auditors verifiable data integrity, though full compliance always depends on a firm's complete set of policies and controls.

References

[1] Sophos. "The State of Ransomware in Financial Services 2025." 2025. https://www.sophos.com/en-us/resources/white-papers/state-of-ransomware-in-financial-services 

[2] IBM. "Cost of a Data Breach Report 2025." 2025. https://www.ibm.com/reports/data-breach 

[3] European Union. "Regulation (EU) 2022/2554 (Digital Operational Resilience Act), Article 12." 2022. https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/reg/2022/2554/oj 

[4] U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. "Electronic Recordkeeping Requirements for Broker-Dealers (Rule 17a-4)." 2022. https://www.sec.gov/investment/amendments-electronic-recordkeeping-requirements-broker-dealers 

[5] FINRA. "Rule 4511. General Requirements." https://www.finra.org/rules-guidance/rulebooks/finra-rules/4511