1. Purpose
Establish requirements for backing up and recovering [ORGANIZATION]'s critical data and systems to ensure business continuity and resilience against data loss, corruption, or ransomware attacks.
2. Scope
This policy applies to all enterprise data, applications, configurations, and systems that support [ORGANIZATION]'s business operations.
3. Policy
3.1 Backup Requirements
[ORGANIZATION] shall maintain automated backups of all in-scope enterprise data, with backup frequency based on data criticality:
Critical systems and data: [CUSTOMIZE: daily/every 4 hours] backups with a Recovery Point Objective (RPO) of [CUSTOMIZE: 4/8/24] hours.
Standard business systems: [CUSTOMIZE: daily] backups with RPO of [CUSTOMIZE: 24 hours].
System configurations and infrastructure: [CUSTOMIZE: weekly and upon change] with configuration management tools.
Backups shall include: application data, databases, system configurations, active directory/identity stores, and critical infrastructure configurations (firewall rules, network device configs).
3.2 Backup Storage and Protection
Backup data shall be encrypted at rest using AES-256 or equivalent encryption.
At least one backup copy shall be stored at an offsite or cloud-based location that is geographically separate from the primary site, with a minimum distance of [CUSTOMIZE: 100/250] miles.
Backup storage locations (on-site and off-site) shall have the same or equivalent physical and logical access controls as the production environment.
Backup systems shall be isolated from the production network to protect against ransomware propagation. At least one backup copy shall be air-gapped or immutable.
3.3 Backup Testing and Recovery
Backup restoration tests shall be performed at least [CUSTOMIZE: quarterly/annually] for each critical system to verify: backup data integrity, restoration procedures, Recovery Time Objective (RTO) achievement (target: [CUSTOMIZE: 4/8/24] hours for critical systems), and Recovery Point Objective (RPO) achievement.
Restoration test results shall be documented and reported to [CUSTOMIZE: IT Management/CISO].
Full disaster recovery exercises shall be conducted at least [CUSTOMIZE: annually] simulating a complete site failure.
4. Compliance
Compliance with this policy is mandatory for all personnel within its scope. Compliance will be monitored through periodic audits, automated controls, and management review.
Exceptions to this policy must be documented with a business justification, approved by [CUSTOMIZE: CISO/Security Team], and reviewed at least annually.
5. Enforcement
Violations of this policy may result in disciplinary action up to and including termination of employment or contract, and may result in civil or criminal penalties where applicable law has been violated.
[ORGANIZATION] reserves the right to audit compliance with this policy at any time, with or without notice.
6. Review and Revision
This policy shall be reviewed at least annually by [CUSTOMIZE: CISO/Policy Owner] and updated as necessary to reflect changes in the threat landscape, regulatory requirements, or organizational structure.
All revisions shall be documented with version number, date, author, and description of changes.
Policy Approval
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