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Object First was founded with the specific mission of creating a backup storage solution that is ransomware proof. The company focuses on addressing the primary vulnerability in data protection: the storage target. Since 96% of ransomware attacks target backup data to prevent recovery, Object First provides an intentionally hardened, immutable storage appliance designed specifically for Veeam Backup & Replication. As of January 2026 Object First has been officially acquired by Veeam, integrating their technology directly into the Veeam portfolio.
The presentation introduces the concept of Zero Trust Data Resilience (ZTDR), which applies zero-trust principles specifically to the backup ecosystem. This framework emphasizes three core pillars: segmenting backup software from storage to minimize the blast radius of an attack, creating multiple resilient zones for data copies, and utilizing absolute immutability. Unlike standard immutable storage that can often be bypassed by administrative overrides or governance modes, absolute immutability ensures that once data is written, it cannot be altered or deleted by anyone, including the customer or the vendor, until the set retention period expires. This is achieved through the strict enforcement of S3 Object Lock in compliance mode and a hardware-integrated security layer.
Object First offers a physical appliance that is designed to be secure, simple, and powerful. The device can be racked and configured in under 15 minutes because it limits user privileges by default, reducing the human attack surface and preventing accidental or malicious configuration changes. Security is further bolstered by eight-eyes validation for support and regular third-party penetration testing. On the performance side, the appliance leverages Veeam’s Smart Object Storage API to provide high-speed ingest and rapid recovery features like Instant VM Recovery. By focusing solely on being the best storage target for Veeam, Object First eliminates the trade-offs between security and performance found in DIY or general-purpose storage solutions.
Personnel: Anthony Cusimano, Geoff Burke
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