Veritas Enhanced Backup Exec Unified Backup and Recovery Solution Strengthens Ransomware Resilience for SMBs

Updates include malware detection capabilities, role-based access control and additional optimizations for fast backup and recovery of business-critical data.

Veritas Technologies LLC announced enhancements to Backup Exec, the unified backup and recovery solution trusted by more than 45,000 SMBs WW. The updates include malware detection capabilities, role-based access control and additional optimizations for fast backup and recovery of business-critical data.

With ransomware attacks on the rise, data security is a growing concern for all businesses. Veritas research found that over the last 2 years, 65% of businesses had fallen victim to a ransomware attack in which bad actors infiltrated their systems. A majority also said data security risks are increasing. Small businesses can be especially vulnerable to ransomware attacks, without the in-house expertise to manage the complexities of data security. Many also forgo cyber insurance with a mistaken assumption that by virtue of their smaller size, they are more likely to fly under the radar of cybercriminals.

Simon Jelley, GM, Backup Exec, said: “Make no mistake, SMBs face the same danger as large enterprises. Hackers target smaller companies just as frequently and with more devastating consequences. Only one thing can guarantee recovery if attackers get in – having a reliable backup system. Veritas Backup Exec provides a simple-to-use, all-in-one solution for protecting SMBs’ critical data wherever it lives – in SaaS or specialized applications and workloads, on-premises or in the cloud.”

The unified design of Backup Exec eliminates the need for multiple point products and offers SMBs a cost-effective way to keep pace with the changing data and threat landscape. Customers can also manage their entire data estate from a single console. The company continuously strengthens the solution’s capabilities and defensive measures, adhering to a rapid development cycle.

Release of Backup Exec introduces several new features:

• Malware detection – Equips SMBs with another line of defense against viruses propagating within their data environment. Backup Exec malware detection, powered by Microsoft Defender, can be used to scan both VMware and Hyper-V backup sets at any time or prior to recovery.
• Role-based security – Limits access to data based on a user’s specific role. In the event an account is compromised, hackers can only corrupt the small volume of data associated with that specific user’s account.
• Faster backup and recovery – Optimizes protection performance with forever incremental backup of VMware and Hyper-V. Protection of VMs is now faster with parallel backup of multiple virtual disks and the included ability to recover VMs instantly.

Steve Walcott, server administrator, WalCorp, said: “Ransomware attacks have become inevitable in today’s world. Veritas Backup Exec helps us stay prepared and ready to recover quickly. The all-in-one design is cost-effective and gives us everything we need to keep our data secure, making it simple to protect data across environments.”

Christophe Bertrand, practice director, Enterprise Strategy Group, said: “Whether they realize it or not, SMBs have a target on their backs. Hackers know they lack resources, and our research confirms that SMBs think ransomware is more complex than other attacks and are more likely to pay extortion demands. Veritas is aiming to ‘democratize’ cyber resilience through Backup Exec, giving SMBs data defense tools to help them detect and recover from ransomware attacks with full confidence.”