Identity has become the new frontline in cybersecurity. When attackers compromise Active Directory or cloud identity systems, they can gain unchecked access to critical systems and data, often leading to ransomware, data theft, or prolonged outages.
Cohesity and
Semperis are addressing this challenge head-on with the launch of
Cohesity Identity Resilience, a platform designed to protect and recover enterprise identity infrastructure across on-premises Active Directory and Microsoft Entra ID.
Securing Hybrid Identity Environments
While many organizations talk about “cloud-first,” the reality is that most enterprises operate in hybrid mode. On-premises Active Directory often remains the foundation of identity, with Microsoft Entra ID extending those services into the cloud. That setup makes recovery especially complex: if Active Directory is compromised, synchronization with Entra ID breaks, cutting off access to SaaS applications and disrupting daily operations.
Eric Purcell, Semperis SVP Global Channels & Alliances, explained the stakes to MSSP Alert: “While some organizations are truly born in the cloud, most enterprises use a hybrid AD/Entra ID identity system in which Entra ID is federated or synchronized with on-premises AD via Entra Connect. This means if AD is compromised or unavailable, user synchronization and access to Microsoft 365 or other SaaS apps can be disrupted. For hybrid AD/Entra ID organizations, Cohesity Identity Resilience’s value is essential: by restoring AD, you restore the source of authority for objects (users, groups, computers) and other entities that are synched to Entra ID.”
This is the gap the joint solution is designed to close - ensuring consistent protection, recovery, and forensic visibility across both environments so that enterprises can maintain confidence in their core identity infrastructure.
Integrating Without Adding Complexity
Enterprises and MSSPs already juggle a wide mix of tools for security, compliance, and data protection. Adding another layer of technology can create new silos or operational burdens if not carefully designed. Cohesity Identity Resilience is intended to work differently.
By combining Semperis’ purpose-built hybrid Active Directory disaster recovery and identity forensics capabilities with the Cohesity Data Cloud, the solution delivers multi-tiered defense without adding unnecessary complexity.
Purcell emphasized this integration advantage: “Cohesity Identity Resilience helps MSSPs and enterprise teams streamline solutions for identity resilience by offering multi-tiered identity system defense, combining purpose-built hybrid AD disaster recovery and IFIR with the leading data protection platform. The offering seamlessly integrates best-in-class platforms that can secure, protect, and recover hybrid AD systems to cut downtime, reduce risk, and achieve comprehensive cyber resilience of their most critical identity workload.”
The combination brings both preventative measures - like scanning environments for indicators of exposure - and rapid recovery capabilities that ensure organizations can bounce back quickly after an incident.
Reducing Risk Across the Attack Lifecycle
Identity attacks are not one-off events. Without thorough remediation, organizations risk reintroducing the same vulnerabilities that attackers exploited the first time. This is why recovery needs to go beyond simply restoring backups. Cohesity Identity Resilience includes specialized forensic and incident response capabilities to cleanse systems of attacker artifacts, verify integrity, and validate that restored environments are trustworthy before putting them back into production.
Purcell made the risk clear: “Without an Identity Resilience solution, organizations risk extended downtime, persistent re-infections, and complex manual recovery processes. This solution directly addresses customer challenges with securing their AD end-to-end throughout the entire attack lifecycle.”
For enterprises, the launch of Cohesity Identity Resilience reflects a shift in how identity is being treated - not just as a gateway to systems but as critical infrastructure that demands the same resilience strategies as data itself. By protecting the “source of truth” for authentication and access, organizations can minimize disruption, strengthen defenses, and ensure recovery remains possible even in the face of sophisticated identity-driven attacks.
