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Risk R-012 - Loss of Infrastructure Backups

FieldValue
Risk IDR-012
AssetBackup Storage (Infrastructure – Owner: Ops)
ScenarioS-011 - Loss of backups
Likelihood🟨 Medium - backup failures or accidental deletions are plausible without proper controls
Impact🟥 High - inability to restore systems and potential permanent loss of data
Risk Level🟥 High
OwnerOps
Last Review2026-03-08
Next Review2026-09-08

Associated Controls:

  • Regular, automated backup schedules with redundancy (onsite and offsite/cloud).
  • Immutable or write-once storage for critical backups.
  • Periodic restore tests to verify backup integrity and recoverability.
  • Access controls and MFA on backup management systems.
  • Monitoring and alerting on failed backup jobs.

References:

  • ISO 27001 - Control 8.3 Information access restriction.
  • ISO 27001 - Control 8.13 Information backup.
  • NIST CSF - PR.IP Information Protection Processes and Procedures.
  • NIST CSF - PR.DS Data Security.
  • EBIOS RM - Analysis of risks related to backup loss or unavailability of critical infrastructure data.

Response Actions:

  • Containment - Stop any ongoing operations that may corrupt backups.
  • Investigation - Identify failed backups or causes of deletion.
  • Recovery - Restore systems from the latest valid backups; verify integrity before reconnection.
  • Post-incident - Review backup policies and schedules, implement additional redundancy, and update documentation.