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Forum Discussion
A client's account was accessed by someone else and they can't recover their files
A client of mine has ask me to help troubleshoot a Dropbox hack. She says that it was a ransomware attack and that Dropbox wasn't able to help her recover deleted files. I've included a section of the message she got from Dropbox support, but I have a question. I thought that Dropbox had a "rewind" function that could restore an account to previous point in time before a hack occurred. Does this function not apply to a case like this?
Message section:
"Permanently Deleted Data:
On the website, there is an option to permanently delete files that overrides any backups we have. It's included as a feature, as many people and companies must abide by regulations that state they must not possess (or have the means to recreate) certain data at any given time.
As this is the feature that was used, as soon as this action was taken the files were permanently removed from the server.
I'm truly sorry, I'm unable to help you with this restoration, as this data has been purged from our servers.
As you can imagine, regardless of who 'pushes the button', the effect is the same. This is why we place such importance on account security."
4 Replies
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- Mark
Super User II
I thought that Dropbox had a "rewind" function that could restore an account to previous point in time before a hack occurred. Does this function not apply to a case like this?
It does, but, as the message says it can be overridden by the Permanent Delete command - which is what is very common in ransomware attacks.
So once the files are set to permanently delete they are, as it says, unrecoverable.
It's why things like backups are so essential, same as antivirus and general all-around security (2FA, etc.)
- Jay
Dropbox Community Moderator
Hi Tracy Christenson, thanks for posting today.
As Mark stated, when the permanent deletion feature is used, it literally permanently deleted files so that neither the user, nor our support team, can restore those files from the system.
Dropbox Rewind can be used when a file is deleted normally, but cannot recover permanently deleted files.
If you have any further queries, feel free to message back.
Oh, I see. Can the permanent deletion feature be disabled for an account?
- Jay
It is possible to disable the ability to permanently delete files for Dropbox teams, when enabled by the team admin, in order to protect their own data from being deleted.
This feature isn't available for personal accounts.
