Multicloud cyber vaulting with Cohesity FortKnox and Microsoft Azure

To support our customers in their multicloud journey, Cohesity set out to provide an easy way to isolate or cyber vault critical data to any cloud provider of their choice. In pursuit of this goal, we recently introduced Cohesity FortKnox on Microsoft Azure. We understand that enterprises have multicloud strategies and require availability across clouds and regions to better align with their organization’s cloud strategy and regulatory compliance objectives, while improving cyber resiliency. Customers can now use the award-winning as-a-service cyber vaulting capabilities of FortKnox to isolate a copy of their critical data and applications across multiple clouds—including Microsoft Azure and AWS.

How FortKnox boosts cyber resilience

FortKnox creates an immutable copy of data in a Cohesity-managed cyber vault on Microsoft Azure. The vault data is kept isolated from other copies via an intermittent network connection or “virtual air gap” that restricts access with vaulting windows, as well as a host of built-in security features to prevent tampering or deletion. This ‘gold’ copy of data can be recovered back to the source location or an alternate location, including public or private clouds, in case of a security breach. It also avoids the cost and complexity of self-managed data vaulting approaches, helping teams trade long hours deploying and maintaining the solution with the operational simplicity of FortKnox as a service data vaulting.

We offer two FortKnox options to help you balance RTO targets and cost optimization:

• Cohesity FortKnox Warm Cloud Vault on Microsoft Azure: This is a warm storage cyber vaulting option that includes immediate data recovery, with a minimum 30-day retention period. Use this option where rapid RTO is the priority, such as the ransomware protection of mission-critical data that requires rapid recovery.
• Cohesity FortKnox Cold Cloud Vault on Microsoft Azure (coming soon): This is a cost-effective cold storage option that provides SaaS cyber vaulting capabilities with longer recovery times than FortKnox Warm Vault, with a minimum 90-day retention period. This option offers a lower-cost alternative, when longer recovery times can be tolerated, for e.g., long-term-retention of healthcare data for regulatory compliance.

Both options will be available as a service, and include the superior data security capabilities of FortKnox such as:

• Virtual air gapping for geographical, network, and operational isolation of vault data
• Immutability to prevent overwriting or deletion
• Encryption of data-at-rest and data-in-transit
• Short-term token-based authentication
• Role-based access control (RBAC) to limit access
• Multifactor authentication (MFA) to prevent unauthorized access
• Quorum to prevent unilateral changes or downloads
• Anomaly detection and reporting
• Cohesity key management system (KMS) to add an extra layer of access control, and more

FortKnox availability details

Additionally, we will soon have these new FortKnox SKUs listed on Microsoft Azure Marketplace so Cohesity customers can quickly and easily buy these services independently, for an end-to-end SaaS experience. Microsoft customers will be able to reduce their Microsoft Azure Consumption Commitment (MACC) through the purchase of FortKnox in the Azure Marketplace.

Initially, FortKnox on Azure is available in the U.S. Central region. Cohesity will continue to add new regions in the future. Please visit the FortKnox regions of availability to find the latest list of regions.

Cohesity and Microsoft continue to innovate and partner together to bring the benefits of cloud, security and AI, together for customers around the world. This announcement is another step forward in Cohesity’s partnership with Microsoft and lays the foundation for organizations to ensure that data is protected and isolated against ransomware and other security threats. It also helps them get more from their data for security and data management initiatives through AI and ML innovations offered by both companies.

To experience the benefits of FortKnox, sign up for a free 30-day trial on us.