Veeam introduces new backup management, cybersecurity features

Veeam Software Group GmbH today debuted new features that will make it easier for enterprises to back up their records and protect them from hackers.

Some of the capabilities are rolling to the company’s flagship Veeam Data Platform backup and recovery product. Others are included in a new offering called the DataAI Command Platform. It’s based on technology from Securiti AI Inc., a startup that Veeam acquired last year for $1.725 billion.

The company says that Veeam Data Platform v13.1 introduces more than 70 enhancements. One of them is a feature that protects backups with post-quantum cryptography. That’s a technology designed to block decryption attempts launched by a quantum computer. Today’s quantum machines have limited computing capacity, but it’s believed that future systems may be capable of breaking many popular encryption algorithms. 

Veeam Data Platform can also fend off current cybersecurity threats. It includes a scanner that checks backups for malware. According to Veeam, the new release of the platform extends the scanner’s coverage to AWS, Azure, Microsoft 365 and network-attached storage environments.

The update also introduces other enhancements. Veeam has added optimizations that speed up the process of backing up Active Directory environments. Additionally, the platform can more effectively use low-cost long-term storage infrastructure to cut backup expenses. 

“We’re making resilience operations more powerful and intelligent so organizations can recover clean and fast and keep trusted data ready for the AI-powered future,” said Rehan Jalil, the president of products and technology at Veeam.

DataAI Command Platform, the new product that debuted alongside Veeam Data Platform v13.1, can automatically map out a company’s data assets. It then finds configuration issues that may expose those assets to hacking. The platform can, for example, detect cases where a source code repository is accessible to more users than strictly necessary.

DataAI Command Platform doubles as a tool for managing artificial intelligence agents. According to Veeam, it can prevent AI agents from accessing files that aren’t strictly needed for the tasks they’re automating. If an agent makes an unwanted change to a document, DataAI Command Platform can reverse it.

Veeam is rolling out the platform alongside two modules that extend its capabilities to adjacent use cases.

The first add-on, the DataAI Resilience Module, enables users to check for issues in their backup infrastructure using natural language prompts. For example, an administrator could ask whether a workload is backed up before moving it to a new server. The second module is called Veeam Intelligent ResOps. It’s designed to ease the task of protecting the data that companies keep in their Microsoft 365 environments.

“Veeam Intelligent ResOps automatically discovers files and AI agents across your Microsoft 365 environment — SharePoint, OneDrive, Teams, and Exchange — using advanced AI,” Jalil explained in a blog post. Sensitive data, regulated content, and business-critical files are all surfaced in a single dashboard, with no manual tagging or tool switching.”

Photo: Veeam