More than 70% of financial institutions have suffered a cyberattack in the last year, and data breaches in the finance sector can result in millions of dollars in bills. With stringent regulations and escalating risks, securing data is not optional — it’s a necessity. Banks depend on secure and available data to operate efficiently and remain compliant. That’s why a solid backup strategy is more critical than ever.
In this post, we will discuss how to secure your financial data with modern, secure, and compliant backup solutions that actually work.
Understanding Financial Sector Backup Requirements
Banks manage vast quantities of extremely sensitive information, such as customer details, bank transaction history, and investment information. They must therefore comply with strict legislation and codes of conduct to safeguard this information. These regulations help ensure that data isn’t only stored safely but also remains accurate and available when needed.
To comply with these requirements, banks can also seek out modern backup technologies, such as Veeam, which enables secure and audit-ready backups. One of the critical components of the strategy is the utilization of object storage that is purpose-built for Veeam, like Object First’s Ootbi Storage for Veeam. Powered by Immutability, Zero Trust design principles, and frictionless Veeam integration, Ootbi is the Trusted choice for Compliance and Data Protection.
Key Regulatory Standards in Finance:
The financial industry is subject to a host of laws that change how it can store and back up data. Some important ones include:
- SOX (Sarbanes-Oxley Act) – Financial documents must be maintained securely for audits and legal purposes.
- PCI DSS (Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard) – Safeguarding cardholder data for banks and credit card companies.
- GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation) — Makes sure data is private and secure, especially for EU clients.
These regulations generally require financial institutions to retain redundant copies of records for many years, often for a longer period.
Data Retention and Audit Readiness:
So, for institutions to get through audits and remain in compliance, they must have the ability to:
- For X period of time
- Easily find and reuse previous information when necessary
- Demonstrate Information Integrity. That data has not been altered, simply because it has been stored.
This requires that backups are structured, protected and can be accessed quickly.
Why Tamper-Proof and Immutable Backups Matter:
“Immutable” backups cannot be altered or deleted, even by someone within the organisation. This is important because:
- Stop hackers from encrypting and deleting your backups.
- Prevents insiders from manipulating financial records.
- Guarantees readied and reliable data for audits or legal purposes.
In other words, financial data should be backed up onto something safe, unchangeable, and easy to prove when someone comes sniffing — regulators, in this case.
Key Backup Challenges Financial Institutions Face
From customer records to transaction information, financial institutions process large volumes of sensitive data every day. It’s a challenge to keep this data backed up and secure. Here are the key challenges they are confronting:
Managing Large Data Volumes Across Systems
There are many systems and software used in banks and financial organisations. All of them generate and store data in their own specific way. It becomes difficult to:
- Keep backups organized
- Ensure nothing is missed
- Track the year-over-year increase in the size of data. Manage data of ever-increasing size year after year
This, in turn, makes the backup process slower and more difficult to handle.
Outdated Storage Solutions Lacking Security
Many financial institutions are still operating on outdated storage systems that aren’t designed to handle today’s threats. These outdated solutions:
- It may not be conducive to data immutability
- Cons: Very few are equipped with modern security functions
- It can be difficult to manage and update
This can compromise the integrity of the data, leading to its loss or corruption.
Ransomware Threats and Internal Misuse
Ransomware is on the rise. Hackers may encrypt data or delete it until a ransom is paid. There are even times when trusted employees can abuse their access to delete or alter data. Without secure backups:
- Slow or no recovery
- The firm could lose critical documents
- Customers lose trust
Limited IT and Cybersecurity Expertise
Smaller and midsize financial firms frequently do not have a large IT department. They may not have specialists who know how to:
- Set up secure backups
- Monitor systems for threats
- Keep everything updated
That makes them sitting ducks for hackers.
Why Veeam and Object Storage Are Perfect for Financial Data
For financial companies that need to back up their data in a way that keeps it safe and complies with strict regulations, Veeam is one of the leading options. And because it’s designed with encryption, Instant Recovery, and audit-ready backups, staying compliant is a breeze. Veeam is also addressing current backup requirements by integrating well with object storage, as well as those that provide native immutability. This has the effect of making the backup data immutable (unchangeable), so it can never be overwritten or deleted, which makes it safe from ransomware or accidental deletion. For finance teams looking for a secure, consistent and fast solution they can trust, Veeam ticks all the boxes.
Object storage is a huge additional piece of power to throw into that setup. Object storage doesn’t slow down as your data increases in volume, unlike older storage systems. It’s built to be natively S3 immutable — to keep your data locked in place and safe from even the most sophisticated cyber attacks. For financial firms specifically, this type of storage is a good fit because it’s secure, efficient, and easy for administrators to manage, which is crucial when dealing with audits or cybersecurity threats. An excellent example of this is Ootbi storage for Veeam. Ootbi is designed for Veeam users, offering quick setup, high performance, and Zero Trust security, all without the need for extensive IT expertise. It can help finance teams develop a robust, compliance-first backup strategy that is secure, easy to use, and future-ready.
Final Thoughts
Update Your Backup Compliance Requirements. A backup system update is no longer an optional service—it’s necessary to remain compliant and safeguarded in the financial sector. With cyber threats and regulations on the rise, relying on outdated approaches could leave your data and reputation in grave danger. Integrated, purpose-built solutions, such as Ootbi with Veeam, provide a smarter path forward. They combine security, simplicity, and efficiency into one powerful distribution. By equipping yourself with the right tools at this moment, you minimize risk, increase recovery velocity and achieve long-term peace of mind. Make backup a strength, not a weakness, in your financial risk management.