Data protection giant Veeam Software Corp. today introduced a new version of Kasten K10, its backup and recovery platform for Kubernetes environments.

Kasten K10 became part of Veeam’s product portfolio in late 2020 through a startup acquisition. The platform enables companies to create backup copies of the data in a Kubernetes environment and recover them if the original data becomes unavailable because of a technical issue. It can also be used for a number of other tasks, such as moving workloads between public clouds.

Kasten K10 V5.0, the new release of the platform that Veeam debuted today, introduces an expanded set of cybersecurity features.

Veeam has added a ransomware detection mechanism that can spot malicious attempts to encrypt a company’s data. Moreover, a new console in Kasten K10’s interface enables administrators to more easily manage user access to a Kubernetes environment. The console makes it possible to create rules regulating which users may access a Kubernetes environment and how. 

Companies encrypt their data, including the data in backup files, to make it inaccessible for hackers. Organizations with particularly advanced cybersecurity requirements encrypt their data using cryptographic keys that they manage in-house. To support this use case, Veeam K10 now provides integration with two of the industry’s most popular cryptographic key management services: Amazon Web Services Inc.’s KMS and HashiCorp’s Vault.

“This latest release provides secure backup and recovery for Kubernetes data and applications while eliminating the complexity in deployment and operations for Kubernetes in the enterprise,” said Veeam Chief Technology Officer Danny Allan. “As more Veeam customers look to leverage Kubernetes, Kasten K10 V5.0’s ease of use will be critical to support data protection and backup in their new environments.”

Besides improving cybersecurity, Veeam’s other major focus with today’s update is to make Kasten K10 easier to use. To that end, Veeam has equipped the platform with several automation features designed to simplify administrators’ day-to-day work.

Kasten K10 V5.0 can automatically ensure that newly deployed applications adhere to configuration best practices. A company could, for example, have Kasten K10 prevent an application from deploying if it contains configuration issues that may increase the risk of a data breach. Similarly, it can block workloads that don’t have backup and recovery features set up correctly. 

The platform also helps companies address configuration issues in workloads that are already deployed. An organization in a regulated industry may require that an application retain data for at least one year. Kasten K10 can detect if the application only retains data for six months, then adjust its settings automatically to address the issue.

Yet another task that Veeam has sought to ease with the new release is the process of setting up the platform on AWS. Many companies run their Kubernetes environments on Amazon EKS, the cloud giant’s managed Kubernetes service. Veeam has added deployment templates that reduce the amount of effort required to set up Kasten K10 in Amazon EKS deployments.

The new features for AWS users are part of an entire series of upgrades designed to make Kasten K10 work better with third party solutions. Veeam has added tools that make it easier to back up business data in the SQL Server and PostgreSQL relational databases. Moreover, there’s improved support for VMware Inc.’s vSphere with Tanzu platform and OpenShift, Red Hat’s distribution of Kubernetes.

Kasten K10 V5.0 is set to become generally available in June. The new release is rolling out following a year in which adoption of the platform increased significantly. This past January, Veeam detailed that its Kasten business unit experienced a 900% year-over-year increase in bookings during 2021 and quadrupled its headcount. 

Photo: Veeam