Veeam Backup & Replication is one of the most widely used backup platforms in corporate environments. Its efficiency, flexibility, and integration with virtualized environments make it highly popular among companies of all sizes. However, this popularity has also made Veeam a major target for ransomware attacks, particularly in double extortion operations, backup destruction, and repository deletion.
Recent reports from Check Point (Cyber Security Report 2025), SonicWall (2025 Cyber Threat Report), and Sophos (State of Ransomware) show that cybercriminals are increasingly prioritizing attacks on backup systems, knowing that companies without functional backups are more likely to pay the ransom. Among the most frequently targeted solutions, Veeam consistently appears in incidents analyzed by CISA and ENISA.
When Veeam is compromised, the organization faces a critical situation:
- Corrupted backups
- Broken restore chains
- Deleted repositories
- Compromised storage
- Corrupted SQL catalog
- Inaccessible VBK/VIB files
In this context, Digital Recovery specializes exclusively in the recovery of data encrypted by ransomware, even when the attack has destroyed the entire backup infrastructure.
Why Has Veeam Become a Prime Target for Ransomware?
According to Check Point’s 2025 report, groups such as ALPHV/BlackCat, Akira, LockBit, and RansomHub now consider attacks on backup systems a mandatory part of their operations.
The reason is simple: backups are the biggest obstacle standing between cybercriminals and a ransom payment. If Veeam is destroyed, the company may be left with no viable alternative.
These attacks generally follow a structured sequence:
1. Credential Compromise
Through advanced phishing, keyloggers, or RDP access, cybercriminals obtain the credentials of the Veeam administrator, Active Directory, or storage system. This allows them to delete entire repositories without triggering alerts.
2. Lateral Movement to the Veeam Server
Native tools such as PowerShell, WMIC, and PsExec are used to locate the Veeam server and storage hosts.
3. Destruction of the Backup Chain
The groups delete or corrupt files such as:
- VBK (full)
- VIB (incremental backup files)
- VRB (reverse incremental backup files)
- .VBM metadata
In many cases, attackers also overwrite storage blocks, making restoration impossible.
4. Attack on the Veeam Catalog and SQL Database
By corrupting the database’s MDF/LDF files, attackers prevent Veeam from recognizing its own backups.
5. Attack on the Underlying Storage
The target may be:
- RAID 5, 6, 10 ou 50
- NAS (QNAP, Synology, TrueNAS)
- SAN Fibre Channel
- DAS
What to Do When Veeam Backup Is Attacked by Ransomware
After an attack, the worst decision is to attempt to repair Veeam manually or rebuild the environment without a specialized assessment. Incorrect actions can overwrite storage blocks, corrupt metadata, or destroy the limited amount of intact data that remains. This is precisely where Digital Recovery comes in.
How Digital Recovery Recovers Data Even When Veeam Has Been Destroyed
Digital Recovery operates below the Veeam layer, working directly with disk structures and at the block level. This means that even when Veeam cannot open the backups or the VBK files are corrupted, recovery may still be possible.
1. Reconstruction of Metadata and Backup Chains
Using advanced techniques and direct block-level analysis, it is possible to reconstruct portions of damaged VBK/VIB backup chains and extract data that remains accessible.
2. Recovery of NAS, SAN, DAS, and RAID Systems
The team specializes in:
- RAID 0, 1, 5, 6, 10, 50, and 60
- NAS storage systems using XFS, EXT4, Btrfs, and ReFS
- LUNs that fail to mount
- Offline or degraded arrays
3. Recovery of Encrypted Servers
Even when ransomware has compromised VMware, Hyper-V, or physical servers, it may still be possible to reconstruct virtual machines, files, and critical directories.
4. TRACER Technology
The proprietary TRACER technology—featured in multiple international case studies—enables data recovery even when:
- backups have been deleted
- files have been renamed
- blocks have been partially overwritten
Conclusion
O Veeam Backup é uma solução poderosa, mas não invulnerável. Nos cenários atuais com ataques cada vez mais sofisticados, AI-powered e altamente direcionados os criminosos sabem exatamente onde atacar. Por isso, a destruição dos backups se tornou parte padrão das operações de ransomware.
When Veeam is compromised, the company faces the worst-case scenario: all systems are encrypted, and no functional restore option remains.
The good news is that even when everything appears to be lost, recovery may still be possible. Digital Recovery works directly at the block level, analyzing storage systems, LUNs, RAID arrays, and internal files to reconstruct data that Veeam can no longer interpret.
