16.

DATA BACKUPS
Implement backup technologies and procedures to protect your
systems and information against loss.

CYBERSECURITY HANDBOOK
Operating systems, applications and databases play a critical role in the WHAT ARE
everyday business operation and service delivery of any organization. A THE RISKS?
human error or a successful cyber attack may result in the following:

• unintentional deletion of data,

• ransomware infection, due to which large volumes of critical data get

encrypted and thus their availability is lost,

• malicious configuration changes, data corruption, accounts creation or

software installation, as well as deletion of important logs. 61

Consequently, in case of critical data loss or alteration, the continuity

of business operations is at great risk. This fact makes backups a
fundamental security measure for any entity.

SUB-CONTROLS

Develop and document:

• a backup policy that addresses purpose, scope,
► 16.1 roles and responsibilities,
• procedures for implementing the policy and the
relevant protection measures.

Perform automated backups of all your important

organizational assets on a daily basis, by combining
► 16.2
effectively the available techniques (full, incremental,
differential).

Ensure that the received backups are encrypted at rest

► 16.3 and in transit. This includes remote backups as well as
the corresponding cloud services.

Ensure that backups are stored in at least one offline

► 16.4
location.

Perform an integrity check of your backups on a regular

► 16.5
basis.