Dell PowerProtect Cyber Recovery: How an Isolated Vault Works

When ransomware reaches your backups, you need a copy of critical data that attackers simply cannot touch. That is the job of a cyber recovery vault — and Dell PowerProtect Cyber Recovery is one of the most widely deployed approaches.

What the vault is

The vault is a separate, hardened environment that holds protected copies of your most critical data. It is isolated from production and from the regular backup network, and connections into it are tightly controlled.

How data gets in — the operational air gap

Data is replicated into the vault on a schedule. Outside those windows the replication link is closed, creating an operational air gap that limits exposure.

• Copies in the vault are retention-locked so they cannot be altered or deleted early.
• Management of the vault is separated from production credentials.
• Analytics (such as CyberSense integration) can scan copies for signs of corruption.

How recovery works

After an incident, teams identify the last known-good copy, recover it into a clean environment and validate it before reconnecting to production.

What to plan for

Deciding what goes into the vault

Vault capacity and replication windows are finite, so most organizations start with a “minimum viable company”: the data and systems needed to restart core operations. That usually includes identity services such as Active Directory, critical databases and applications, configuration data and the tools required to rebuild infrastructure.

Each item should have an owner, a replication frequency, a retention period and a documented recovery procedure. Revisit the list as the business changes — a vault holding last year’s critical systems will not save this year’s.