CommVault - Experts & Thought Leaders

Commvault, a pioneering provider of cyber resilience and data protection solutions for the hybrid cloud, announced the availability of Cloud Rewind™ on the Commvault Cloud platform. This unique offering, which integrates cloud-native distributed application recovery and rebuild capabilities from the Appranix acquisition, gives cloud-first organisations a secret weapon to transform their cyber resilience capabilities. Commvault’s latest research When organisations are attacked, restoring the data is only half the battle. The truly laborious task is actually restoring the distributed cloud applications, which are used to run and power that data. Think of it like this: a typical enterprise organisation may use as many as 371 cloud applications spanning various services like finance, HR, and operations. After an attack, organisations often can’t resume “business-as-usual” operations until many of those applications are rebuilt in a step-by-step, systematic, time-consuming way. The majority of enterprises report that it takes more than a week to return to normal operations, according to Commvault’s latest research. That’s too long. But, with Cloud Rewind, that’s all changing. Cloud-native application Cloud Rewind offers a truly unique approach that transforms and simplifies cloud cyber recoveries Cloud Rewind offers a truly unique approach that transforms and simplifies cloud cyber recoveries. It’s designed to quickly restore an organisation’s entire cloud application and data environment – including all the necessary cloud infrastructure configurations – in a highly automated way. By combining data recovery – the sole focus of traditional data protection tools – with cloud-native application and infrastructure rebuild automation, Cloud Rewind helps customers get back to business within minutes after a cloud services outage or ransomware attack, akin to a “cloud time machine.” Advanced Cloud Rewind capabilities Cloud Rewind introduces an advanced set of unique capabilities designed to help businesses bounce back from cyber incidents with exceptional speed and efficiency. Reduce organisational risk with resource discovery: automatically identifies and catalogs all cloud components in use, offering full visibility into what assets need protection and recovery. So that nothing critical is missed in the recovery process, even in complex, multi-cloud environments. Reduce operational confusion and toil with app-centric dependency mapping: analyses and defines the intricate relationships between various cloud components. This feature accelerates the task of piecing these dependencies together after an incident, making the rebuild process much faster. So, when a system is restored, all connected resources and services are aligned, with little to no human involvement. Keep security teams in-sync with drift analysis: helps return restored systems to their correct state by identifying and correcting any deviations (or “drifts”) from the original configuration. This proactive capability keeps tabs so that restored systems are aligned with their secure and functional state after an incident. Automated cyber recovery testing with Recovery-as-Code: captures not only the data but also the full map of applications, infrastructure, and networking configurations. This means that systems can be restored with their complete operational blueprint intact, reducing guesswork for a thorough recovery. Avoid wasting cloud resources with on-demand cloud reconstruction: puts it all back together, helping customers swiftly rebuild both the data environment and its supporting infrastructure. This provides organisations with a secure and operational cloud environment, ready for immediate use following a disruption. Integrated application-centric cyber recovery and disaster recovery: Cloud Rewind integrates with Commvault Cloud data resilience capabilities to help organisations rapidly recover from short-term failures to debilitating cyber-attacks with a few clicks. Cloud Rewind supports all major public and private cloud platforms, including Amazon Web Services (AWS), Google Cloud Platform (GCP), and Microsoft Azure, for true customer cloud choice. Cyber Resilience Dashboard Complementing Commvault’s cloud-native rebuild technology is its new Cyber Resilience Dashboard Complementing Commvault’s cloud-native rebuild technology is its new Cyber Resilience Dashboard. This dashboard provides continuous ransomware readiness assessments that make it easy for organisations to understand where they have gaps in their resilience plans. It also delivers actionable insights to improve resilience and recovery readiness. The dashboard provides a view across the entire data estate, assessing components such as testing frequency and success, and availability of immutable air-gapped copies of critical data. Leveraging that information, organisations receive a grade based on their readiness to recover and recommendations on improving it. Supporting quotes “Commvault’s Cloud Rewind enhances data management by covering every step of a data breach—protection, recovery, and rebuilding,” said Venkata Sudhakar Nagandla, SVP & Global Head-IT Infrastructure & Cloud, Allcargo Group Companies. “Additionally, we can achieve better RTO and RPO to meet our business needs without requiring a parallel hot standby IT infrastructure and with minimal manual effort.” “What we are doing with Cloud Rewind is unlike anything offered on the market today. In the ransomware era, recovering data is important, but it’s table stakes,” said Brian Brockway, CTO, Commvault. “We’re ushering in an entirely new chapter in cyber resilience that not only expedites data recovery, but recovery of cloud applications. This is the gold standard in recovery for a cloud-first world.” “With Cloud Rewind, Commvault helps organisations quickly recover in the case of a cybersecurity incident,” said Melinda Marks, Practice Director, Cybersecurity, Enterprise Strategy Group. “Its resource discovery, dependency mapping, drift analysis, and automated cloud reconstruction capabilities provide much-needed relief for teams to save them from the intricate and time-consuming process of rebuilding their applications. For enterprises managing hundreds of cloud services, this is a huge advantage for minimising downtime after a breach.”

Commvault, a pioneering provider of cyber resilience and data protection solutions for the hybrid cloud, announced that the Commvault® Cloud cyber resilience platform will be available on Amazon Web Services (AWS). The Commvault Cloud platform, including its widely deployed SaaS offerings (formerly known as Metallic), will provide AWS customers with cutting-edge solutions for automating data protection, advancing cyber recovery, and simplifying the cloud application rebuild process following a cyberattack. Commvault’s announcement More organisations are embracing a cloud-first approach where cyber resilience is key. In fact, 73% of all new data will be stored in the cloud. Commvault’s announcement provides organisations with even more options for building resilience on the secure AWS Cloud. Offerings that will be available to AWS customers include: Cloud Rewind: Based on Appranix technology, Cloud Rewind acts as an AWS time machine. This cloud-native offering lets organizations “rewind” to the last clean copy of their data, recover that data, and automate the cloud application rebuild process so that businesses can get back to normal in minutes versus hours, days, weeks, or months. To read about other new developments with Cloud Rewind. Cyber Resilience for Amazon S3: Through its recent acquisition of Clumio, Commvault will be introducing new technology in the coming months that will also bring time machine capabilities to Amazon Simple Storage Service (Amazon S3) customers. In the event of an attack, this technology will allow Amazon S3 customers to revert rapidly back to a clean copy of data that has not been infiltrated with malware. At a time when many companies are storing very large datasets in Amazon S3, including AI and ML datasets, this advancement will represent an important opportunity to further cyber resilience in the AI era. Air Gap Protect: This critical last line of defense offering will provide AWS customers with immutable, isolated copies of data in a Commvault tenant, as a service. This offering joins Commvault’s current capabilities for backup and protection in customer-owned tenants. This gives AWS customers another way to keep their data safe and resilient. Cleanroom Recovery: Commvault is extending the power of Cleanroom Recovery to AWS. When attacked, this technology will allow organizations to automatically provision recovery infrastructure, allowing recovery to an isolated location in AWS and rapidly restore production workloads. Customers can also conduct forensics in this clean and safe location. The beauty of Cleanroom Recovery is that it also enables IT and security teams to frequently and fully test their cyber recovery plans in advance so that they know when they are hit, they can recover quickly. Building on a Strong Foundation Vast numbers of customers already utilise Commvault to protect data stored on AWS Vast numbers of customers already utilise Commvault to protect data stored on AWS. In fact, in the last year alone, Commvault has backed up exabytes of data to AWS targets. With announcements – including offering the full Commvault Cloud platform on AWS – Commvault expects that number to grow significantly. Availability at the Fingertips Commvault’s suite of solutions for AWS will be generally available in the coming months. Following availability, joint customers will be able to access these solutions in the AWS Marketplace. Supporting quotes “By utilizing Commvault in our AWS environment, we will be able to greatly enhance our data protection, resiliency, and recovery processes,” said Marek Duranik, Core Infrastructure & Data Storage and Protection Associate Director, Merck, Sharp & Dohme (MSD). “Commvault’s orchestration capabilities allow us to automate and streamline recovery in the event of a cyberattack and significantly decrease recovery time. Plus, we get the added benefit of having access to Commvault’s SaaS offerings with full support for both cloud and on-premises infrastructure. Our data and recovery environments will be secure, resilient, and prepared to face potential threats, decreasing our risk and enhancing our ability to quickly respond to cyberattacks.” “We are proud to extend the full power of the Commvault Cloud platform and cloud-native solutions to AWS,” said Pranay Ahlawat, Chief Technology and AI Officer, Commvault. “We believe our game-changing technology will empower joint customers to recover faster, mitigate threats more effectively, and enhance their cyber resilience strategies.”

Commvault, a pioneering provider of cyber resilience and data protection solutions for the hybrid cloud, announced an expanded relationship with Google Cloud with the launch of Commvault® Cloud Backup & Recovery for Google Workspace. This new solution, which is targeted for availability by the end of the calendar year, will deliver comprehensive, end-to-end enterprise-grade protection for Gmail, Google Drive, and Shared Drives, helping to keep valuable data safe, compliant, and recoverable – all with the simplicity of SaaS. Commvault offers built-in Google Cloud Storage for Google Workspace protection while providing the broadest workload protection across SaaS, hybrid, and cloud-native workloads. Commvault’s doubling down on Google Cloud With support for Google Workspace, Commvault will offer Google Cloud customers new opportunities to safeguard their critical data with enhanced security, streamlined recovery processes, and scalable cloud solutions. Benefits include: Comprehensive protection: Google Workspace customers will be able to effortlessly discover active data, rapidly recover from inadvertent or malicious data deletion, and maintain a copy of valuable data in the Commvault Cloud for compliance mandates. Multi-layered cyber resilience: With stringent security standards, privacy protocols, and zero-trust access controls built-in, Google Workspace customers will benefit from the multi-layer data protection provided by Commvault Cloud – which can help minimise the impact of cyberattacks and combat data loss threats. Simplicity of SaaS: Google Workspace customers will also enjoy the freedom Commvault Cloud provides. Commvault Cloud delivers cost-effective data protection with the simplicity of SaaS, avoiding infrastructure and management overheads with subscription-based licencing including unlimited long-term retention. Cloud-first cyber resilience This is another way that Commvault is offering customers a strong defence against ransomware Commvault is further expanding its Google Cloud capabilities with Cloud Rewind™, which integrates Appranix’s innovative application rebuild capabilities into the Commvault Cloud platform, providing Google Cloud customers with an automated, cloud-native rebuild solution to rapidly recover from cyber incidents. Earlier this year, Commvault announced support for object retention lock for Google Cloud Storage, providing customers with immutable cloud storage on Google Cloud’s infrastructure. Designed to be an unalterable object storage layer, this is another way that Commvault is offering customers a strong defence against ransomware. Supporting quotes “In today’s fast-paced, cloud-driven world, having seamless data protection is crucial for our operations,” said Michael Mathews, Vice President for Global Learning and Innovation, Oral Roberts University. “Commvault’s solution for Google Workspace will enable us to confidently manage our data across Gmail and Google Drive, knowing that we have enterprise-level protection and the ability to recover quickly in the event of an issue. This will empower us to focus on our business while Commvault keeps our data safe.” “As businesses increasingly rely on Google Workspace, safeguarding their critical data has never been more essential. With Commvault Cloud Backup & Recovery, we’re delivering a purpose-built solution that not only simplifies data protection but also elevates security and compliance standards for Google Cloud customers,” said Rajiv Kottomtharayil, Chief Product Officer, Commvault. “By combining the simplicity of SaaS with enterprise-grade recovery, we’re helping organisations strengthen their cyber resilience across the hybrid cloud landscape.”

Every day, millions of people worldwide use their personal credentials to prove their identity and access a range of services, from databases in their workplace to the banking app on their smartphone. But while this ensures only authorised people have access to certain systems, the use of this personal data opens users up to cyber risks, primarily in the form of identity theft. On Identity Management Day, Source Security spoke to seven IT and cybersecurity experts to discuss their experiences and advice on identity management, including James Brodhurst, Principal Consultant at Resistant AI, who reinforces that: “Securing identities is more important than ever, as fraud and identity theft has impacts for businesses as much as for individuals.” Effective identity management He recommends that businesses and other organisations that use consumer identities as an integral part of operations must address the significant challenges of managing identities and recognise that there is no single solution to all possible cyber threats. Effective identity management is only achieved through a broad range of technologies and data. Businesses have a critical role to play in mitigating cyber threats, as does society as a whole" This is an important first step for organisations to know who they are interacting with, and subsequently distinguish between genuine or illicit actions. “Businesses have a critical role to play in mitigating cyber threats, as does society as a whole. Initiatives such as Identity Management Day serve to increase our collective awareness of the issues and threats we’re facing, and also safeguard sensitive data.” External cyber defences “Why is identity theft so common?” ponders Andy Swift, Technical Director of Offensive Security at Six Degrees. “Well, the simple answer is stealing account credentials is big business. There is a massive industry out there of people stealing and selling credentials on the dark web. I don't suggest you venture to the marketplaces through which stolen credentials are sold on the dark web, but if you did you'd find lists of credentials with different attributes – whether they've been tested, whether they have access to financial data – that dictate price.” “Most stolen credentials are sold to people looking to launch phishing and onward phishing attacks, giving them access to compromised mailboxes to send emails from. Secondly, there are hackers who want to launch attacks – ransomware, more than likely – from within a network without having to navigate its external cyber defences while also evading the long wait for brute force attacks, phishing attacks and other noisy activities to pay off.” Access sensitive data Credential stuffing is one of the most common forms of attack and corporate credentials are usually the target" “And thirdly, there are people who want to simply target external administration interfaces they have identified (RDP for example) which they can in turn use to pivot through to internal networks, or even just target the external host directly.” Gregg Mearing, Chief Technology Officer at Node4, adds: “Credential stuffing is one of the most common forms of attack and corporate credentials are usually the target. In 2020 alone there were 193 billion credential stuffing attacks globally. Attacks commonly start with a database of stolen credentials, usually with usernames, emails and passwords – although phishing emails and suspicious websites are also used to steal corporate credentials. Once they have gained entry into the organisation's system, the attacker can move laterally, completely unnoticed, to access sensitive data, remove files or plant malware.” Most common threats “Despite the ubiquity of this style of attack and a wide understanding of the importance of password hygiene, 65% of people still reuse passwords across multiple accounts. There can be no doubt that employees are the first line of defence for an organisation against a cyber attack. If trained properly, they can act as a human firewall. However, poor cyber hygiene, a lack of best practice when it comes to managing credentials, and a limited understanding of the most common threats can make an organisation’s employees its greatest weakness.” Despite the ubiquity of this style of attack and a wide understanding of the importance of password hygiene" Alongside credential stuffing and phishing, Liad Bokovsky, Senior Director of Solutions Engineering at Axway, explains how API attacks are yet another way criminals are executing identity theft: “In fact, last year API attacks increased 348%, and companies affected included some of the largest corporations – Facebook, Instagram, and Microsoft.” Protecting customers’ data “Companies need to do a better job at protecting their customers’ data. In a recent survey, 82% of UK consumers confirmed they would stop doing business with a company if it suffered a data breach that exposed their personal information.” “Thriving and surviving in today’s hyper-connected economy increasingly depends on having sufficient API maturity in place to ensure that anything connecting to an organisation’s servers – devices, apps, customers – is managed appropriately to keep APIs, customer data and the company’s reputation safe. This means having technology and processes in place to make sure that API design, implementation, and management are done properly.” Owning smart devices This needs to change and with the UK no longer required to adhere to EU-GDPR legislation" Michael Queenan, CEO, and Co-Founder of Nephos Technologies, explains how the huge volumes of personal data being created every day are putting consumers at risk: “Whether shopping online, setting up a social media account or simply reading a news article, we are regularly being asked for our identifiable information. With 10% of UK homes now owning smart devices – e.g. an Alexa or a Ring doorbell – our data is constantly being collected, even within our own homes. Should it fall into the wrong hands, it could be used for identity theft or fraud.” “This needs to change and with the UK no longer required to adhere to EU-GDPR legislation, it presents an opportunity to rectify how personal data can be shared. Ultimately, I believe individuals should be responsible for their own data and how it is used.” Ensure data privacy “A possible way of achieving this is through identity-centric blockchain, whereby everyone has a national email address associated with their blockchain identity that permits access to their personal data. This would ensure that only you get to decide who has access – your data, your choice!” This would ensure that only you get to decide who has access – your data, your choice" Steve Young, UKI Sales Engineering Director at Commvault also comments on how identity management is vital for meeting data regulations, thereby supporting data management throughout the business: “In the world of data management, you’d be forgiven for thinking that the focus is all on backups and recovery. But while these are absolutely crucial elements, another key aspect of data management is identity management – only through understanding it will businesses be able to drive their data management to the next level. Identity management is necessary to ensure data privacy.” Latest data regulations “Many people will be most familiar with its function as a way to restrict access of employees to certain files and resources that may hold sensitive or classified information. But what is becoming more important today is how identity management also helps prevent cybercriminals entirely outside an organisation from gaining unauthorised access to a system and initiating a ransomware attack, for example. Because of this, identity management helps businesses be compliant with the latest data regulations, as it ensures that any customer data collected and stored is kept secure.” So, what solutions should IT leaders be prioritising to strengthen their identity management measures? Six Degrees’ Andy Swift recommends multi-factor authentication (MFA): “MFA provides great defence against identify theft, but it's also a reactive technology: for it to be effective, an attacker must already have obtained stolen credentials.” Cyber security training Credential-driven attacks are largely exacerbated by a ‘set it and forget it’ approach to identity management" “That's why comprehensive cyber security training and education on best practices is quite possibly more important than any technology could ever be alone. There's no silver bullet when it comes to achieving strong identity management, but the importance of threat awareness and training cannot be overstated.” “We advocate for the best practices that ensure cyber hygiene and protect personal and professional identities and credentials to prevent credential-based attacks from continuing,” concludes Tyler Farrar, CISO at Exabeam. “Credential-driven attacks are largely exacerbated by a ‘set it and forget it’ approach to identity management, but organisations must build a security stack that is consistently monitoring for potential compromise." "Organisations across industries can invest in data-driven behavioural analytics solutions to help detect malicious activity. These analytics tools can immediately flag when a legitimate user account is exhibiting anomalous behaviour indicative of credential theft, providing greater insights to SOC analysts about both the compromised and the malicious user, which results in a faster response time.”