Immutable storage allows sovereign cloud provider to deliver assured backup and recovery for government customers
SYDNEY, June 4, 2020: VMware, Inc. (NYSE: VMW), in partnership with Cloudian and Veeam today announced that AUCloud is using Object Lock-based ransomware protection to provide immutable backup storage services to its government customers. AUCloud, a VMware Cloud Provider Partner, is the only Australian sovereign cloud provider offering Object Lock-based ransomware protection service.
Object Lock-based ransomware protection is a recently launched offering developed by Cloudian and Veeam. The solution provides the unique capability to protect data so it cannot be encrypted by ransomware. It is powered by Cloudian HyperStore object storage and Veeam Availability Suite V10 and can be managed from VMware Cloud Director.
AUCloud, Australia’s sovereign cloud IaaS provider, is exclusively focused on serving Australian Federal, State and Local Governments and Critical National Industry (CNI) communities, and therefore must adhere to strict regulatory requirements. The new Object Lock-based feature has been verified in international certification testing as meeting highly stringent requirements for non-rewritable and non-erasable storage media.
As governments face increasing threats from cyber attack, immutable backups are needed so government departments can recover quickly from IT failures and remain protected against ransomware attacks. Given approximately 80% of AUCloud’s customers use VMware, AUCloud also needed to enable seamless integration into the VMware environment.
Phil Dawson, Managing Director, AUCloud, said, “As a consequence of the recent catastrophic Australian bushfire season and now the COVID-19 pandemic, sovereign resilience, revenue protection and business continuity are more essential than ever. The new Object Lock-based ransomware protection service is a key tool in our customers’ resilience armory, which when combined with our sovereign cloud offering, means customers have robust data protection with no worries about off-shoring data.”
Unlike traditional malware defenses, Object Lock-based ransomware protection stores objects using a write-once-read-many (WORM) model, preventing backup data modification or deletion during a user-defined retention period. This is important for those in highly targeted industries, such as government, as it helps prevent locked backups from being compromised by hackers, encrypted and then held for ransom.
Cloudian HyperStore and Veeam Availability Suite v10 now offer built-in ransomware protection via VMware Cloud Director integration for efficient, single-point management. The combined service offering creates the only Object Lock solution in Australia outside of those developed by international cloud providers for their own platforms.
James Wright, Regional Director ANZ/Oceania at Cloudian, said, “In the current environment, ransomware threats are increasing, yet at the same time, businesses need to operate within limited budgets. As ransomware protection can now be managed as part of a customer’s standard backup workflow, we’re providing an automated, cost-effective solution that enables fast recovery in the event of a ransomware attack while reducing the need for precious labour-intensive resources.”
For government customers, another benefit of the AUCloud offering is the ability to store offsite backups in Eastern Creek, NSW. This not only provides another sovereign data storage facility, it means Federal Government entities can store their data outside Canberra. The importance of safe, offsite storage became highly visible during the recent bushfire crisis, which had the potential to impact facilities in Canberra. As Canberra is the primary location for public sector data storage, it highlighted the need for additional sovereign data storage sites to be made available.
Asanga Wanigatunga,Vice President, Cloud and Service Providers for Asia Pacific and Japan, Veeam, said, “The enhancements in Veeam Availability Suite v10 stay true to helping businesses of all sizes keep their data always available, portable, and protected across any cloud or platform. We are the insurance policy for ransomware and malware attacks by making backup copies immutable, so that these copies in object storage are not only recoverable, but also prevented from being deleted or modified. We are extremely excited with the partnership and are dedicated to providing tighter collaboration on training, sales and marketing.”
Mike Reddie, Senior Director, Cloud, VMware Australia and New Zealand, said, “The need for both rapid digital transformation and seamless cyber security that operates across any cloud, any app and any device has never been more apparent. This new service allows our customers to use the ecosystem of applications, tools and APIs they need to fuel innovation within their existing VMware environment, with the added capability to provide these through highly secure backup storage and servers. It’s promising to work with a range of our cloud partners to see this solution come to life, to improve digital security for our customers.”
Press Release: By VMware
The new Cloudian software is available from VMware and VMware Cloud Provider Partners.
