Backup Policy
Version: v4.9 | Effective Date: June 1, 2021
- Document Created: May 3, 2021
- Last Reviewed: November 28, 2024
- Next Review Date: November 2025
- Approved By: Chief Technology Officer
- Policy Owner: Security Officer
5.1 Purpose
This Backup Policy establishes comprehensive requirements for backing up critical systems, applications, and data to ensure business continuity, enable timely recovery from data loss events, and meet regulatory obligations.
5.2 Scope
Applies to all production systems, databases, applications, file servers, email systems, customer data, source code repositories, security logs, configurations, and virtual machines.
5.3 Policy Statements
5.3.1 Backup Frequency and Schedule
Full backups are performed monthly. Incremental backups are conducted daily or more frequently based on data change rate and RPO requirements. Critical systems may require more frequent backups.
5.3.2 Backup Retention
Operational backups are retained for 30 days providing sufficient recovery window. Extended retention periods are available when required by contractual obligations, regulatory compliance, legal holds, or business policy.
5.3.3 Backup Encryption
All backup data is encrypted using AES-256 encryption. Encryption keys are managed separately from backup data storage through AWS Key Management Service or equivalent, with secure key backup and rotation.
5.3.4 Backup Storage Location
Backups are stored in geographically distributed cloud storage locations (AWS S3, Azure Blob Storage) with redundancy and high availability. Storage implements multiple copies across availability zones with automatic replication.
5.3.5 Backup Testing and Verification
Backup restoration procedures are tested quarterly including sample file restoration, database recovery, full system restoration for critical systems annually, and backup integrity verification. Test results are documented and reviewed by Security Officer.
5.4 Compliance
Supports ISO/IEC 27001:2022 (A.8.13), SOC 2 Type II (CC9.1), and NIST SP 800-53 (CP-9, CP-10).