Always-on soft delete vs vault immutability

Question

Can someone please clarify the differences between having always-on soft delete (for a recovery services vault) vs vault immutability (locked, on a recovery services vault)? Is the immutability more secure? Should I enable both? Thanks

Answer 1

Hi Ty
Always-on soft delete and vault immutability are both features designed to enhance the security of your backup data, but they serve different purposes.

Always-on Soft Delete:

• This feature is enabled by default on newly created Recovery Services vaults. It protects backup data from accidental or malicious deletions by retaining deleted items in a soft deleted state for a period of 14 days. During this time, you can restore the deleted items.
• Once soft delete is disabled, all future deletions will result in immediate removal without the ability to restore. It is important to note that soft delete can be disabled, but doing so is not recommended.

Vault Immutability:

• Vault immutability, when locked, makes the backup data completely secure by preventing any operations that could lead to loss of backups. This includes the ability to delete or modify the backup data. Once the immutability is locked, it becomes irreversible, meaning that no one, including administrators, can change this setting.
• This feature is generally considered more secure than soft delete because it provides a stronger guarantee against data loss due to malicious actions or accidental deletions.

https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/backup/backup-azure-security-feature-cloud?tabs=azure-portal#enable-and-disable-soft-delete

https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/backup/backup-azure-immutable-vault-how-to-manage?tabs=recovery-services-vault#enable-immutable-vault

Kindly let us know if the above helps or you need further assistance on this issue.

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