Veeam Backup & Replication is one of the most widely used backup platforms in the corporate world. Its efficiency, flexibility, and integration with virtualized environments make the solution extremely popular among companies of all sizes. However, this popularity has also turned Veeam into one of the main targets of ransomware attacks, especially in double-extortion operations, backup destruction, and repository wiping.
Recent reports from Check Point (Cyber Security Report 2025), SonicWall (2025 Cyber Threat Report), and Sophos (State of Ransomware) show that cybercriminals are prioritizing attacks on backup systems, as they know that without functional backups, companies become more likely to pay the ransom. Among the most targeted tools, Veeam consistently appears in incidents analysed by CISA and ENISA.
When Veeam is hit, the organization faces a critical scenario:
- Corrupted backups
- Broken restore chains
- Deleted repositories
- Compromised storage
- Damaged SQL catalog
- Inaccessible VBK/VIB files
In this context, Digital Recovery works exclusively on recovering data encrypted by ransomware, even when the ransomware destroys the entire backup infrastructure.
Why has Veeam become a priority target for ransomware?
According to the Check Point report (2025), groups such as ALPHV/BlackCat, Akira, LockBit, and RansomHub have begun treating attacks on backups as a mandatory part of the operation.
The reason is simple: the backup is the biggest obstacle between the criminal and the ransom payment. If Veeam is destroyed, the company is left with no alternative.
These attacks generally follow a structured sequence:
1. Credential compromise
Through advanced phishing, keyloggers, or RDP access, criminals obtain Veeam, AD, or storage administrator credentials. This allows them to delete entire repositories without triggering alerts.
2. Lateral movement to the Veeam server
Native tools (PowerShell, WMIC, PsExec) are used to locate the Veeam server and the storage hosts.
3. Destruction of the backup chain
The groups delete or corrupt files:
- VBK (full)
- VIB (incrementais)
- VRB (reverse incremental)
- Metadados .VBM
In many cases, the attackers also overwrite storage blocks, making restoration impossible.
4. Attack on the Veeam catalog and SQL
By corrupting the MDF/LDF database files, Veeam stops 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 the attack, the worst decision is to try to manually repair Veeam or rebuild the environment without a specialized analysis. Incorrect actions can overwrite blocks, corrupt metadata, or destroy the few intact data that remain. And this is exactly where Digital Recovery comes in.
How Digital Recovery Recovers Data Even When Veeam Has Been Destroyed
Digital Recovery operates below the Veeam layer, directly within the disk structure and at the block level. In other words, even when Veeam cannot open the backups or the VBK files are corrupted, recovery is still possible.
1. Reconstruction of metadata and backup chains
With advanced techniques and direct block analysis, it is possible to reconstruct parts of damaged VBK/VIB chains and extract information that is still accessible.
2. Recovery of NAS, SAN, DAS, and RAID
The team specializes in:
- RAID 0, 1, 5, 6, 10, 50, 60
- XFS, EXT4, Btrfs, ReFS NAS Storages
- LUNs that do not mount
- Offline or degraded arrays
3. Recovery of encrypted servers
Even when the ransomware has hit VMware, Hyper-V, or physical servers, it is still possible to reconstruct VMs, files, and critical directories.
4. TRACER Technology
The proprietary TRACER technology — mentioned in multiple international cases — allows data to be recovered even when:
- backups have been deleted
- files have been renamed
- blocks have been partially overwritten
Conclusion
Veeam Backup is a powerful solution, but it is not invulnerable. In today’s scenarios, with increasingly sophisticated, AI-powered, and highly targeted attacks, cybercriminals know exactly where to strike. This is why the destruction of backups has become a standard part of ransomware operations.
When Veeam is compromised, the company enters the worst possible scenario: all systems are encrypted and no restore is functioning.
The good news is that even when everything seems lost, recovery is still possible. Digital Recovery works directly on blocks, storages, LUNs, RAIDs, and internal files, reconstructing data that Veeam can no longer interpret.
