Commvault Automates Active Directory Forest Recovery to Protect 'Keys to the Kingdom' Amidst Rampant and Debilitating Ransomware Attacks

Rhea-AI Summary

Commvault has expanded its platform to include automated forest recovery for Microsoft Active Directory, addressing a critical cybersecurity need. The new Commvault Cloud Backup & Recovery for Active Directory Enterprise Edition aims to protect the widely-used enterprise identity system that manages authentication for over 610 million users worldwide.

The solution introduces automated runbooks for forest recovery, visual topology views for quick domain controller restoration, and integrated protection for both Active Directory and Entra ID. This automation significantly reduces recovery time from days or weeks to a fraction of the time, eliminating error-prone manual processes.

The product targets a important security concern, as Active Directory is targeted in up to 90% of cyberattacks. The solution is expected to be generally available in the first half of 2025, with pricing based on a per-user model.

Positive

• Addresses a critical market need with Active Directory being targeted in 90% of cyberattacks
• Significantly reduces recovery time from days/weeks to a fraction of the time
• Automated solution eliminates error-prone manual processes
• Targets large market with over 610 million Active Directory users worldwide

Negative

• Product won't be available until first half of 2025

Leverages the same platform that already delivers comprehensive protection of critical workloads – ushering in a new level of cyber resilience for customers and partners

TINTON FALLS, N.J., Jan. 14, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Commvault, a leading provider of cyber resilience and data protection solutions for the hybrid cloud, today introduced an expansion of its platform to provide full and automated forest recovery for the world's most widely used enterprise identity and access solution, Microsoft Active Directory.

As organizations continue to combat non-stop cyberattacks and threats, Commvault^® Cloud Backup & Recovery for Active Directory Enterprise Edition is the latest addition to the Commvault Cloud platform, which already protects a vast array of workloads and is designed to keep customers resilient, operational, and in a state of continuous business.

Active Directory, often called the "backbone of enterprise IT," manages authentication for more than 610 million users worldwide¹ and controls access to critical business systems, protecting everything from workstation logins to physical building access. If Active Directory goes offline, business operations can come to a halt. Bad actors know this all too well, which is why they make Active Directory a primary target in up to 9 out of 10 cyberattacks². When disaster strikes, recovering Active Directory is vital, yet traditionally has been very hard to do, requiring intricate, time-consuming, manual processes, as described by Microsoft's Forest Recovery Guide.

Commvault is changing this with Backup & Recovery for Active Directory Enterprise Edition. It brings a new level of resilience to Active Directory by enabling automated, rapid recovery of the Active Directory forest, which includes users, groups, permissions, and domain controllers across the organization. This new offering eliminates slow and error-prone manual processes often associated with Active Directory forest recoveries. With Backup & Recovery for Active Directory Enterprise Edition, enterprises will be able to:

• Make Active Directory recovery a snap via automated runbooks: Automated forest recovery runbooks streamline the multi-step process required for Active Directory forest recovery, including tasks like transferring key roles from an unavailable domain controller to a functioning one, which is essential for a clean recovery. These runbooks can also be used for regular testing in non-production environments to enhance cyber readiness.
  
  
• Enable fast recovery of the most important Active Directory infrastructure: Visual topology views of an organization's Active Directory environment enable simple and rapid identification of which domain controllers to restore first and how they should be recovered to accelerate availability of Active Directory services.
  
  
• Accelerate recovery times and advance resilience: Manually recovering an Active Directory forest can take days or even weeks to complete, but with Commvault, organizations can recover it in a fraction of the time. Commvault's Cloud platform integrates Active Directory forest recovery with granular recovery of both Active Directory and Entra ID, the cloud-based identity service, providing comprehensive protection.

"Active Directory is the heart that keeps our business functioning and in the event of a ransomware attack, recovering it will be one of our top priorities," said Jeffrey Day, Deputy Chief Information Security Officer, Nevada Department of Transportation. "Commvault's innovation with Active Directory forest recovery will provide us with the confidence and peace of mind that not only can we recover our Active Directory data, but we will be able to do so quickly and accurately. And, having this offering integrated directly into the same cyber resilience platform that we use to protect mission-critical workloads is a win-win."

"Recovering Active Directory is foundational to maintaining continuous business after a cyberattack, yet traditional methods are too complex and prone to error," said Pranay Ahlawat, Chief Technology and AI Officer, Commvault. "With automated Active Directory forest recovery, we are giving customers game-changing recovery capabilities, and by integrating this into our unique cyber resilience platform with broad workload support, we're bringing a new era of continuous business to our customers that nobody can match."

"With identity-based attacks on the rise, it has never been more critical to protect Active Directory," said Krista Case, Research Director, Futurum Group. "Commvault's approach, which includes automated workbooks and folding Active Directory recovery into the same platform that also protects a wide range of other workloads, addresses several critical requirements we hear from practitioners, including the need to streamline security operations and to accelerate recoveries."

Availability and Pricing
Commvault Cloud Backup & Recovery for Active Directory Enterprise Edition is targeted for general availability within the first half of 2025 and priced per user.

For More Information
To learn more and demo the solution, visit the Active Directory solution page.

About Commvault
Commvault (NASDAQ: CVLT) is the gold standard in cyber resilience, helping more than 100,000 organizations keep data safe and businesses resilient and moving forward. Today, Commvault offers the only cyber resilience platform that combines the best data security and rapid recovery at enterprise scale across any workload, anywhere—at the lowest TCO.

¹ Microsoft (2023). Microsoft Fiscal Year 2023 Fourth Quarter Earnings Conference Call. Retrieved from https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/investor/events/fy-2023/earnings-fy-2023-q4.
² Sheridan, K. (2021, May 3). Researchers Explore Active Directory Attack Vectors. Dark Reading. https://www.darkreading.com/vulnerabilities-threats/researchers-explore-active-directory-attack-vectors

View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/commvault-automates-active-directory-forest-recovery-to-protect-keys-to-the-kingdom-amidst-rampant-and-debilitating-ransomware-attacks-302349851.html

SOURCE COMMVAULT

FAQ

When will Commvault's new Active Directory recovery solution (CVLT) be available?

Commvault Cloud Backup & Recovery for Active Directory Enterprise Edition is targeted for general availability within the first half of 2025.

How does Commvault's new Active Directory solution (CVLT) improve recovery time?

The solution reduces recovery time from days or weeks to a fraction of the time through automated runbooks and streamlined processes.

What is the pricing model for Commvault's new Active Directory solution (CVLT)?

The solution will be priced on a per-user basis.

How many users could benefit from Commvault's Active Directory protection (CVLT)?

The solution could potentially benefit over 610 million users worldwide who currently use Active Directory for authentication.

What percentage of cyberattacks target Active Directory according to Commvault (CVLT)?

According to the announcement, Active Directory is targeted in up to 90% of cyberattacks.