[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":147},["ShallowReactive",2],{"publication:en:P167":3},{"meta":4,"copy":16,"relatedArticles":134,"terms":135,"term":136,"resourceParent":142,"glossaryParent":145},{"id":5,"path":6,"kind":7,"keyword":8,"title":9,"seoTitle":10,"description":11,"incoming":12,"updated":15},"P167","\u002Fglossary\u002Fbackup","term","what is a backup","What is a backup? Recovery copies, coverage and verification","What is a backup? Coverage and recovery explained","Understand backup copies, versions, retention, access and restoration. Learn why a file or completed job is different from a verified recovery capability.",[13,14],"\u002Fservices\u002Fbackups","\u002Fblog\u002Fransomware-protection-cloud-backup-strategy","2026-10-30",{"intro":17,"sections":18,"checklistTitle":87,"checklist":88,"faq":95,"sources":105,"links":111,"cta":129},"A backup is a retained copy of data intended to support recovery after loss, damage or an unwanted change. Its usefulness depends on what it contains, which earlier states remain available, who can access it and whether the business can restore the needed function. A file in storage or a successful backup job is evidence of one stage, not proof of complete recovery.",[19,28,33,65,74,82],{"title":20,"paragraphs":21,"sources":24},"Define the data and function the copy is meant to protect",[22,23],"Start with the business asset: a website, application database, document set, mailbox or another defined system. Identify the data and configuration needed to use it again. A website export may contain content but omit uploads, application settings or a dependent service. The word backup does not specify that coverage automatically.","Keep an inventory that distinguishes included, excluded and separately protected components. The question is not simply how many files exist, but whether the selected recovery copy can support the required workflow. For an online shop, restoring page files is different from recovering consistent orders and the connection to the payment or fulfillment system.",[25],{"label":26,"url":27},"NIST SP 800-209 (2020): storage isolation and restoration assurance","https:\u002F\u002Fnvlpubs.nist.gov\u002Fnistpubs\u002FSpecialPublications\u002FNIST.SP.800-209.pdf",{"title":29,"paragraphs":30},"Versions and retention determine which earlier state remains available",[31,32],"A recent copy can help with a recent failure, while an unwanted change discovered later may require an older state. Record how versions are created, how long they remain accessible and what changes or deletes them. A destination that is repeatedly overwritten may retain a different recovery history from a service that preserves multiple points.","Retention describes a policy and its actual scope, not proof that every expected copy was created successfully. Check the available recovery points and any failed or incomplete jobs. The selected point also needs to be suitable for the incident; the newest available state may already contain the problem being investigated.",{"title":34,"paragraphs":35,"table":38},"Different storage features answer different recovery questions",[36,37],"Synchronization, replication, snapshots, exports and dedicated backup services can all contribute to recovery, but their labels do not establish the same boundary. A synchronized service may retain history; a snapshot may depend on the same account or storage system. Inspect the actual behavior, protected scope and recovery controls.","Compare the arrangement against the failures the business wants to survive: accidental deletion, a lost device, inaccessible hosting or a compromised administrator. One mechanism may address some of those scenarios and leave others unresolved. The backup-versus-sync guide supplies a controlled comparison exercise rather than a rule based only on product names.",{"caption":39,"headers":40,"rows":44},"Assess a backup claim by the question it answers",[41,42,43],"Claim","Useful evidence","Separate recovery question",[45,49,53,57,61],[46,47,48],"The job completed","The intended job reported completion at a recorded time.","Were all required components captured consistently?",[50,51,52],"Several versions exist","Earlier states are visible within the configured scope.","Are the needed point and access still usable?",[54,55,56],"The copy is encrypted","The configured protection and key arrangement are known.","Can the authorized recovery team obtain the required keys?",[58,59,60],"The copy is remote","It is stored in a different stated location.","Does it share the same account or deletion control?",[62,63,64],"A restore test passed","A defined restoration worked under recorded conditions.","Which functions and failure scenarios were outside that test?",{"title":66,"paragraphs":67,"sources":70},"Access and keys are part of the recovery asset",[68,69],"A copy cannot help the business if the only person with access has left or the recovery account depends on the failed system. Identify who can read, restore, delete and change retention, and who owns account recovery and encryption-key access. These capabilities may be held by different people or provider roles.","Protection against unauthorized deletion and the ability to perform an authorized restore must work together. Strong isolation without a usable recovery route can become an operational dead end. Avoid storing reusable account secrets in public documentation or an enquiry; the business should agree a controlled way to manage that material.",[71],{"label":72,"url":73},"AWS Backup: data protection and account responsibilities","https:\u002F\u002Fdocs.aws.amazon.com\u002Faws-backup\u002Flatest\u002Fdevguide\u002Fdata-protection.html",{"title":75,"paragraphs":76,"example":79},"A usable copy is demonstrated through an appropriate restore",[77,78],"A restore test connects the copy to an application or business function in a defined environment. Record the selected point, inputs, access, observed results and exclusions. Checking that an archive opens is different from validating a database, sign-in, enquiry workflow or order state. Choose checks relevant to the asset rather than claim universal success.","Use an isolated, authorized process and prevent copied systems from sending real messages, payments or callbacks. The existing restore-test guide explains that workflow. A test result supports the conditions tested; it does not create a guarantee that every future incident will have the same data, access or recovery time.",{"title":80,"text":81},"Illustrative incomplete copy","A business has a weekly website content export but no copy of uploaded customer files or the application configuration needed to interpret them. The export is real. Its presence alone does not establish that the complete service can be rebuilt.",{"title":83,"paragraphs":84},"Turn the definition into a maintained responsibility",[85,86],"Ask who owns the coverage inventory, job failures, access changes and periodic restoration checks. Update the arrangement when the application, provider or business process changes. A backup that was useful before a migration may no longer include the new data source or its dependencies.","CyberFixCrew is an Israeli cybersecurity company serving businesses worldwide with websites, backups and digital-infrastructure work. Our Israeli technical knowledge connects the copy, recovery access and functional acceptance. The glossary defines the concept; a scoped service separately agrees coverage, implementation, testing and handover.","Questions behind a useful backup",[89,90,91,92,93,94],"Which data, configuration and dependencies are included?","Which earlier recovery points remain available?","Who can restore, delete or change retention?","Can the business recover account and key access?","What functional restore was tested and under which conditions?","Who updates coverage and investigates failures?",[96,99,102],{"question":97,"answer":98},"Is a completed backup job enough?","It supports a statement about that job, not complete recovery. Confirm the coverage, consistency, accessible recovery point and required dependencies, then test the relevant restoration and business function. Keep the result and exclusions so the next owner understands what was demonstrated.",{"question":100,"answer":101},"Is a cloud copy automatically independent?","No, location and control are different questions. A remote copy may share production credentials, administrative authority or deletion paths. Check the actual identity, retention and recovery arrangements rather than infer independence from the word cloud.",{"question":103,"answer":104},"Does having several copies prove one is clean?","No, the copies may contain the same unwanted change or compromised state. Determine the appropriate recovery point using the incident evidence and validate the selected copy in scope. The number of copies is only one part of the recovery decision.",[106,107,108],{"label":26,"url":27},{"label":72,"url":73},{"label":109,"url":110},"NCSC: backing up data for small organisations","https:\u002F\u002Fwww.ncsc.gov.uk\u002Fcollection\u002Fsmall-organisations-guide-to-cyber-security\u002Fbacking-up-your-data",[112,115,117,120,123,126],{"path":113,"label":114},"\u002Fglossary","Browse the cybersecurity glossary",{"path":13,"label":116},"Scope backup and recovery work",{"path":118,"label":119},"\u002Fblog\u002Fbackup-restore-test","Plan an isolated restore test",{"path":121,"label":122},"\u002Fblog\u002Fbackup-vs-sync","Compare backup and synchronization behavior",{"path":124,"label":125},"\u002Fglossary\u002Frpo","Understand the required recovery point",{"path":127,"label":128},"\u002Fblog\u002Fbackup-provider-checklist","Evaluate a backup service through acceptance",{"title":130,"description":131,"button":132,"type":133},"Clarify what your recovery copy actually covers","Describe the system, data and business function. We can scope the coverage and verification question before recommending a change.","Discuss backup coverage","check",[],[],{"name":137,"aliases":138},"Backup",[139,140,141],"data backup","backup copy","recovery copy",{"path":143,"label":144},"\u002Fresources","Website security resources and templates",{"path":113,"label":146},"Cybersecurity glossary for small businesses",1794134057640]