Backup Recovery Points Should Not Expire Before Retention Period Rule
This rule ensures that backup recovery points do not expire earlier than the defined retention period.
| Rule | Backup recovery points should not expire before retention period |
| Framework | NIST 800-171 Revision 2 |
| Severity | ✔ Low |
Rule Description
This rule specifies that backup recovery points should not expire before the specified retention period for compliance with NIST 800-171 Revision 2.
Explanation
Backup recovery points are essential for data protection and disaster recovery purposes. It is crucial to ensure that these recovery points are retained for a specified duration to meet regulatory requirements and facilitate proper restoration in case of data loss.
Complying with NIST 800-171 Revision 2 requires organizations to establish and maintain a backup strategy, including setting appropriate retention periods for their recovery points. The rule ensures that recovery points are retained for at least the duration specified by the retention policy.
Troubleshooting Steps
If you encounter issues with recovery points expiring before the retention period for NIST 800-171 Revision 2, follow these troubleshooting steps:
- 1.Review Backup Configuration: Check the configuration settings for your backup solution to confirm that the retention period is correctly defined.
- 2.Verify Backup Schedule: Ensure that the backup schedule aligns with the retention period, so recovery points are not deleted prematurely.
- 3.Check Storage Space: Insufficient storage space may result in automatic deletion of older recovery points. Verify that you have enough storage available for retaining recovery points as per the defined period.
- 4.Validate Retention Policy: Confirm that the defined retention policy aligns with the requirements of NIST 800-171 Revision 2. If the policy is outdated or misaligned, update it accordingly.
Remediation Steps
To comply with NIST 800-171 Revision 2 and ensure that backup recovery points do not expire before the retention period, follow these steps:
- 1.Identify Retention Requirements: Determine the specific retention period mandated by NIST 800-171 Revision 2 for your organization's backup and recovery points.
- 2.Update Backup Configuration: Modify the configuration settings of your backup solution to reflect the correct retention period.
- 3.Adjust Backup Schedule: Review and adjust the backup schedule to ensure that recovery points are created and retained appropriately within the specified retention period.
- 4.Allocate Sufficient Storage Space: Make sure that your backup infrastructure has enough storage capacity to accommodate the required number of recovery points based on the retention period.
- 5.Periodic Validation: Regularly review and validate that the backup system is adhering to the defined retention policy and keeping recovery points for the required duration.
- 6.Test Restore Functionality: Periodically test the ability to restore data from recovery points to ensure the effectiveness of your backup strategy.
Note: The steps provided here are generic guidelines and may vary depending on the specific backup solution and infrastructure used by your organization. Consult the documentation or support resources for your backup solution for detailed remediation steps.
Example Code (if applicable)
Depending on your backup solution, there may be specific codes or scripts that can be utilized to enforce the retention policy. However, since backup solutions vary, it is not feasible to provide a generic code example that applies to all scenarios.
It is recommended to refer to the documentation or support resources for your specific backup solution to retrieve any relevant codes or scripts for implementing retention policies.
Conclusion
Adhering to the backup recovery point retention policy for NIST 800-171 Revision 2 ensures that organizations maintain data resilience and meet regulatory requirements. Regularly reviewing and validating the backup configuration, schedule, and retention policy will help organizations remain compliant and prepared for potential data loss scenarios.