In today’s threat-laden digital landscape, safeguarding critical IT infrastructure is paramount for organisations worldwide. Recognising the growing menace of ransomware attacks targeting identity systems, Commvault has unveiled a groundbreaking enhancement to its cyber resilience platform—automated Active Directory forest recovery.
Active Directory, often referred to as the “backbone of enterprise IT,” is indispensable for managing authentication and controlling access to vital systems, including workstation logins and even physical security measures. However, its central role in enterprise security has made it a prime target in the vast majority of cyberattacks, with as many as nine out of ten attacks involving attempts to compromise Active Directory.
When Active Directory is disrupted, the impact can cripple business operations. Traditionally, recovery efforts have been complex, manual, and error-prone, as outlined in Microsoft’s Forest Recovery Guide. Commvault’s latest innovation—Backup & Recovery for Active Directory Enterprise Edition—addresses these challenges head-on, streamlining and automating the recovery process to offer unparalleled resilience and operational continuity.
Transforming Active Directory Recovery
Commvault’s new solution introduces automated forest recovery capabilities, enabling enterprises to recover their Active Directory environments with speed and precision. Key features include:
- Automated Runbooks: These simplify the intricate steps required for forest recovery, such as transferring essential roles from compromised domain controllers to operational ones. Runbooks not only ensure a clean and efficient recovery but can also be used for routine testing in non-production environments to bolster cyber readiness.
- Visual Topology Views: A comprehensive visualisation of the Active Directory environment facilitates rapid identification of critical components for restoration, prioritizing the recovery of key domain controllers to expedite availability.
- Accelerated Recovery Times: Manual recovery of Active Directory forests can take days or weeks. With Commvault’s automated solution, recovery is achieved in a fraction of the time, integrating seamlessly with Entra ID for cloud-based identity management.
Pranay Ahlawat, Chief Technology and AI Officer at Commvault, highlighted the significance of this innovation: “Recovering Active Directory is foundational to maintaining continuous business after a cyberattack, yet traditional methods are too complex and prone to error. With automated Active Directory forest recovery, we’re giving customers game-changing recovery capabilities. By integrating this into our unique cyber resilience platform, we’re ushering in a new era of continuous business resilience.”
The Nevada Department of Transportation’s Deputy Chief Information Security Officer, Jeffrey Day, emphasised the real-world impact of this advancement: “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. Commvault’s innovation provides us with the confidence that we can recover our Active Directory data quickly and accurately.”
The integration of Active Directory forest recovery into Commvault’s existing platform, which already offers comprehensive workload protection, creates a one-stop solution for enterprises striving to maintain operational continuity in the face of growing cyber threats.
Industry experts have also lauded Commvault’s approach. Krista Case, Research Director at Futurum Group, noted, “With identity-based attacks on the rise, it has never been more critical to protect Active Directory. Commvault’s solution, with automated runbooks and seamless platform integration, addresses practitioners’ key needs, including streamlined security operations and accelerated recoveries.”
Commvault Cloud Backup & Recovery for Active Directory Enterprise Edition is expected to be generally available in the first half of 2025, with pricing based on a per-user model. Organisations eager to enhance their resilience against ransomware and other cyber threats can explore this solution further by visiting Commvault’s Active Directory solution page.
