Silent Cubes • Long-term archiving • Secondary Storage • Made in Europe
Compliant archiving that regulators can verify, not just trust.
Silent Cubes write data once. Hardware makes it immutable: no administrator, no attacker, no software update can alter or delete archived records. That is a physical property of the system, not a policy you hope nobody resets.
WORM
WORM (Write Once, Read Many) refers to a storage principle in which data is written once and can technically no longer be altered or deleted — in hardware WORM, this immutability is a physical property of the storage controller, independent of software, operating system or user privileges.
The Problem
Why archives fail when regulators look closely
What compliance and IT teams across Europe actually face:
Software is a setting, not a guarantee. , retention policies and immutability flags are configuration. An administrator with sufficient rights can reset them. When a regulator or court asks whether records *could* have been altered, "our policy forbids it" is a weak answer. "The hardware makes it impossible" is a strong one.
Immutable Storage
Immutable storage refers to storage technologies that protect stored data from subsequent alteration or deletion — where the decisive difference lies in whether this protection is enforced at the hardware level (cannot be circumvented) or at the software level (can be circumvented by administrators with sufficient rights).
WORM
WORM (Write Once, Read Many) refers to a storage principle in which data is written once and can technically no longer be altered or deleted — in hardware WORM, this immutability is a physical property of the storage controller, independent of software, operating system or user privileges.
The burden of proof sits with you. MiFID II requires records kept so that they cannot be altered or deleted. French, Italian and Swiss archiving rules all demand integrity that can be demonstrated, not asserted. An archive without and a complete audit trail leaves you arguing instead of proving.
Immutable Storage
Immutable storage refers to storage technologies that protect stored data from subsequent alteration or deletion — where the decisive difference lies in whether this protection is enforced at the hardware level (cannot be circumvented) or at the software level (can be circumvented by administrators with sufficient rights).
Cloud archives create decade-long dependencies. A compliant archive must outlive price changes, service discontinuations and shifting jurisdictions. For retention periods of 10, 25 or 30 years, and FISA 702 exposure is not a theoretical concern for European data. What you archive today must still be yours, intact and readable, in 2050.
US CLOUD Act
The US CLOUD Act (Clarifying Lawful Overseas Use of Data Act, 2018) authorizes US authorities to require US companies to hand over data — regardless of where that data is physically stored, including servers located in the EU.
US CLOUD Act
The US CLOUD Act (Clarifying Lawful Overseas Use of Data Act, 2018) authorizes US authorities to require US companies to hand over data — regardless of where that data is physically stored, including servers located in the EU.
File servers (or backups) are not archives. A file share with access controls is not compliant archiving: administrators can change files, integrity is not verified, and nothing stops silent corruption over the years. has to be enforced below the operating system.
Immutable Storage
Immutable storage refers to storage technologies that protect stored data from subsequent alteration or deletion — where the decisive difference lies in whether this protection is enforced at the hardware level (cannot be circumvented) or at the software level (can be circumvented by administrators with sufficient rights).
The solution
Silent Cubes: Hardware WORM as a ready-to-use appliance
Silent Cubes are a archiving system that makes data immutable at the hardware level. is a physical property of the storage, not a configuration that can be disabled. The system has been in production for over 17 years, with every installation still able to read its first byte.
Immutable Storage
Immutable storage refers to storage technologies that protect stored data from subsequent alteration or deletion — where the decisive difference lies in whether this protection is enforced at the hardware level (cannot be circumvented) or at the software level (can be circumvented by administrators with sufficient rights).
WORM
WORM (Write Once, Read Many) refers to a storage principle in which data is written once and can technically no longer be altered or deleted — in hardware WORM, this immutability is a physical property of the storage controller, independent of software, operating system or user privileges.
Hardware WORM at firmware level
No root access, no stolen credentials, no software update can modify or delete archived data. The write operation seals the data. There is nothing to switch off.
Self-healing data integrity
Automatic integrity checks run continuously in the background. Damaged blocks are repaired from redundant copies without manual intervention. You can prove integrity at any point, for any year.
Complete appliance
No integration project, no separate hardware underneath, no second vendor in the support chain. Connect via NFS or SMB and start archiving.
Energy-efficient for decades
Sleep mode keeps long-term operating costs low. Designed for retention periods of 10, 25, 30 years without media migration or data loss.
Retention management built in
Define retention per archive. After expiry, data can be selectively released and deleted. Legal retention and erasure obligations work in one system instead of against each other.
GDPR
The GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation, EU 2016/679) is the European regulation for the protection of personal data — particularly relevant for IT infrastructure in Art. 5 (principles), Art. 17 (right to erasure), Art. 28 (processors) and Art. 32 (security of processing).
Certified under Europe's strictest regime
Silent Cubes are KPMG-certified for audit-proof archiving under German law (), widely regarded as the most demanding standard in Europe. Wherever you operate, that certification is evidence of how seriously the system takes immutability.
Audit-Proof Archiving
Audit-proof archiving describes the legally required property of an archiving system that preserves documents completely, immutably, traceably and accessibly at all times — and that this can be demonstrated without gaps to tax authorities, auditors and data protection supervisory bodies.
GoBD
The GoBD (Principles for the Proper Management and Storage of Books, Records and Documents in Electronic Form as well as Data Access) is a German Federal Ministry of Finance letter that specifies how tax-relevant documents must be archived electronically in Germany — particularly regarding immutability, completeness and auditability.
How it works
Compliant archiving in four steps
From capture to regulator access. Fully on-premises, no cloud in the operating path.
Capture and indexing
WORM sealing
Long-term operation
Audit and regulator access
Regulations
Compliance: What Silent Cubes covers across Europe
There is no single EU archiving law. There is a dense net of EU regulations and national standards that all demand the same thing: records that demonstrably cannot be changed.*
| Regulation | Requirements | Silent Cubes |
|---|---|---|
| MiFID II (Art. 16(7)) + Del. Reg. (EU) 2017/565 | Trading and communication records kept so they cannot be altered or deleted; 5 years, up to 7 on request | ✓ Hardware-WORM |
| GDPR Art. 5(1)(f), Art. 32 | Integrity; technical measures against unauthorised modification | ✓ Hardware WORM |
| GDPR Art. 17 | Erasure once retention ends | ✓ Retention-based release and deletion |
| eIDAS 2 (Reg. (EU) 2024/1183) | Electronic archiving preserved against loss and alteration, with presumption of integrity | ✓ Immutable storage layer for archiving services |
| DORA (Reg. (EU) 2022/2554) | Backup and restoration with data integrity, for financial entities | ✓ Immutable secondary storage |
| NIS2 (Art. 21) | Business continuity incl. backup management for essential and important entities | ✓ |
| EU Clinical Trials Reg. 536/2014 (Art. 58) | Trial master file complete and legible for 25 years | ✓ Designed for decades |
| National standards: NF Z42-013 / ISO 14641 (FR), AgID Guidelines / CAD Art. 44 (IT), GeBüV (CH) | Integrity, immutability or verifiable tamper-evidence of archived records | ✓ Hardware WORM exceeds tamper-evidence requirements |
Silent Cubes provides the storage layer: immutability, integrity verification and audit trails. Full compliance with each framework also involves processes and documentation on your side; under eIDAS 2, "qualified electronic archiving" is a designation for trust service providers, for whom Silent Cubes serves as the immutable storage foundation. Our compliance overview maps each requirement to the system capability. FAST LTA engineers support the assessment.
Use Cases
Who archives on Silent Cubes?
Wherever immutability is required by law, or has to be proven in court.
Frquently asked questions
Yes. Hardware at firmware level is not a configurable setting; it is a physical property of the storage. No root access, no stolen credentials, no software update can modify written data. In front of a regulator, that is a categorically different argument from software : the system cannot alter data, not merely "is not permitted to".
WORM
WORM (Write Once, Read Many) refers to a storage principle in which data is written once and can technically no longer be altered or deleted — in hardware WORM, this immutability is a physical property of the storage controller, independent of software, operating system or user privileges.
WORM
WORM (Write Once, Read Many) refers to a storage principle in which data is written once and can technically no longer be altered or deleted — in hardware WORM, this immutability is a physical property of the storage controller, independent of software, operating system or user privileges.
Yes. Silent Cubes supports retention-based management: once the defined retention period expires, data can be selectively released and deleted. Legal retention duties and the right to erasure are handled in one system.
GDPR
The GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation, EU 2016/679) is the European regulation for the protection of personal data — particularly relevant for IT infrastructure in Art. 5 (principles), Art. 17 (right to erasure), Art. 28 (processors) and Art. 32 (security of processing).
is among the strictest archiving compliance regimes in Europe, and Silent Cubes is KPMG-certified against it. The certification does not replace your local requirements, but a system proven under the hardest rules gives you a strong starting position under MiFID II, NF Z42-013, AgID guidelines or GeBüV, which all demand the same core property: demonstrable immutability.
GoBD
The GoBD (Principles for the Proper Management and Storage of Books, Records and Documents in Electronic Form as well as Data Access) is a German Federal Ministry of Finance letter that specifies how tax-relevant documents must be archived electronically in Germany — particularly regarding immutability, completeness and auditability.
eIDAS 2 defines "qualified electronic archiving" as a trust service provided by qualified providers. No storage product alone makes you compliant. Silent Cubes delivers what those services and any serious archiving setup require underneath: storage that preserves data against loss and alteration, with verifiable integrity.
Every system that writes to a standard NFS or SMB share: d.velop, ELO, DocuWare, SER Doxis, windream, OpenText and others. No proprietary plugin required in most cases.
Without interrupting operations. The existing archive keeps running while new records go to Silent Cubes; legacy data is migrated in stages. FAST LTA supports the migration planning.
Next step
Compliant archiving is not an IT project you finish. t is an obligation you carry for decades.
To regulators, to auditors, and in court. Silent Cubes gives you the storage layer that holds: immutable by hardware, verified continuously, independent of any cloud provider. Talk to our engineers about your retention requirements.
»It is becoming increasingly important whether a manufacturer is based in Europe. These days, anything coming from the US needs to be viewed with a critical eye, whether because of the costs or data protection concerns.«
Michael Günther
Head of IT at GHWM