New feature: Malware detection for Cloud-to-Cloud Backup

So, here’s a scenario that you definitely want to avoid: Some important data stored in Microsoft 365 gets deleted. Maybe it was an accident, or maybe it was done maliciously, or by a ransomware attack.

“Okay, no problem,” you think to yourself. “I’ve got Barracuda Cloud-to-Cloud Backup, so I’ll just need a few minutes to restore exactly the data that was lost, and then I’ll go on like nothing happened.”

Except that it turns out that somewhere in among that data there was a piece of malware just waiting for someone to activate it. How could that happen? Well, new malware is constantly being developed by criminals, so even the most sophisticated threat detection, like Barracuda Email Protection, might not spot a new, unknown threat as it comes into your system.

Because of that, it’s possible that your backup system — the very thing you depend on to protect your data — is going to put the previously undetected malware right back where an unwary user may click it. And that means you are once again at risk of a data breach or worse.

Like I said: A scenario to be avoided.

Malware detection to the rescue

Yes, the Barracuda development teams have been hard at work hammering out new features for our premier cloud data protection product.

If you were at a recent webinar, you learned about the new Entra ID data protection feature —and got a quick teaser about malware protection. (You can watch a recording of that webinar here, or you can read my earlier blog post about it here.)

But rest assured, the teasing is over, and Malware Detection for Barracuda Cloud-to-Cloud Backup is now live.

If you already have Cloud-to-Cloud Backup, there’s nothing you need to do — Malware Detection is included at no charge. The new feature is already working, and you probably won’t even notice it unless and until it alerts you that it found some malware and excluded it from a data-restore job.

And if you don’t have Cloud-to-Cloud Backup yet, well, there’s never been a better time to get it. The first step is to set up a free trial or schedule a demo.

What it does, how it works

In principle, it’s really quite simple. Anytime you restore any data from backup, Cloud-to-Cloud Backup will run all the data through Barracuda’s proven, proprietary malware detection systems, including signature-based detection and our Advanced Threat Protection stack — the same technology that has been a key component of Barracuda Email Protection for years.

And since we constantly update these detection systems in real time with new threat data, a piece of malware that evaded email filtering when it first arrived is almost certain to be spotted later when it’s being restored from backup.

When it identifies a malicious file during a restore job, Cloud-to-Cloud Backup removes it from the data-restore process and sends admins an alert to let them know about the malware.

The feature is already working for you whether you have Cloud-to-Cloud Backup as a standalone solution or as part of your Barracuda Email Protection subscription.

The Barracuda advantage

While other vendors provide backup solutions with a malware detection feature, these are mostly pure-play backup providers. They don’t have their own malware detection technology, so they must license it from other security vendors — and it’s hard to know how effective, fast, and reliable it is, or how well it’s integrated into the backup solution.

Barracuda, on the other hand, has a decades-long record of developing, deploying, and improving sophisticated threat-detection technologies, and integrating them into our portfolio of security solutions and platforms. Our Advanced Threat Protection system, along with the global threat intelligence network that powers it, is a tested and proven technology that only Barracuda can deliver.

And that means that with Barracuda Cloud-to-Cloud Backup, you can be confident that malware detection is highly effective, seamlessly integrated, and constantly updated to incorporate the latest innovations and detect the most advanced cyber threats.