CIS Control 11.4: Establish and Maintain an Isolated Instance of Recovery Data
Data loss can cripple your business. CIS Control 11.4 requires you to maintain isolated backup copies that are protected from the same threats affecting your primary systems. This control ensures your organization can actually recover from ransomware, hardware failures, or catastrophic incidents without depending on compromised infrastructure.
What this means
You must create and maintain at least one independent copy of critical recovery data that is logically or physically separated from your production environment. This isolation prevents a single attack or failure from destroying both your operational data and your ability to restore it. Implementation approaches include offline storage (air-gapped systems), cloud-based backup services with separate credentials, or geographically dispersed off-site locations. Version control and regular testing of recovery procedures are essential to ensure your isolated backups remain viable.
How to comply
- 1.Identify all critical data and systems that require recovery capabilities
- 2.Establish backup destinations that are isolated from primary production systems
- 3.Implement offline, cloud, or off-site backup storage with separate administrative access
- 4.Use version control to track and maintain multiple recovery data snapshots
- 5.Document backup schedules, retention policies, and recovery procedures
- 6.Test recovery procedures at least quarterly to validate data integrity
- 7.Monitor backup completion and verify isolation remains effective
- 8.Restrict access to recovery data to authorized personnel only
Evidence auditors look for
- Backup logs showing isolated storage locations and completion timestamps
- Cloud backup service configurations with separate authentication credentials
- Off-site storage facility agreements or contracts
- Backup encryption keys stored separately from backup data
- Recovery test reports demonstrating successful data restoration
- Change logs documenting backup destination modifications
- Access control records for backup administration accounts
- Disaster recovery plans referencing isolated recovery data instances
Frequently asked questions
When will FAQs be available?
The FAQ for this control is currently being prepared.
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