IS7020 - Data Backup & Recovery

Purpose

Back-up copies of essential information and software shall be taken on regular basis to protect against loss of data. Adequate backup and recovery procedures shall be documented and followed to ensure that all essential information and software could be recovered following a disaster or failure of storage media. This would help to prevent loss of data, which can impact DMACC in terms of delay, increased costs, loss of credibility and embarrassment.

Scope

This procedure applies to:

• Application Owners / Data Owners
• Backup Administrators (Permanent & on contractual basis) responsible for administering and maintaining DMACC’ s electronic information backup

Procedure Statements

Application Owners and Backup Administrators shall ensure that adequate data backup mechanism is in place to ensure that the data is not lost and can be recovered or restored in the event of an equipment failure, intentional destruction of data, or disaster.

Backup Process

Responsibility for data backup operations shall be assigned by the Executive Director, Information Solutions to designated backup administrators.

There shall be a documented backup and recovery procedure to back up the following:

• Customer information
• Source codes and executable of Application software
• Data files of all application software
• End-user document files like Microsoft Office documents etc.
• Electronic mail
• System software (operating system, RDBMS etc.)
• Parameter and configuration files of networks and network devices, if applicable
• System documentation likes user manuals, technical manuals etc.

Backup scheduling shall be done to ensure that all critical data is backed up without affecting system operations. Preferably Backup shall be scheduled during non-peak hours

In case of the data exceeding the daily back up limits, appropriate type of backups like full, incremental, or differential shall be scheduled and taken.

Type and frequency of backup and type of backup media to be used shall be decided by the data owner in consultation with backup administrator taking into consideration the following parameters.

• Volume of data
• Criticality of data
• Recovery time constraints

Data shall be retained for the period necessary to satisfy both business and legislative requirements. Data owners shall assign the retention period for essential business data and establish any requirement for archive copies to be permanently retained.

New applications or data classified as business critical shall be identified before the commissioning of the application and formally communicated to the backup administrator through the Executive Director, Information Solutions.

Security of Backup Media

Any media containing critical DMACC data shall be encrypted during storage wherever possible.

Data on backup media shall be secured against unauthorized access. (Several commercial backup solutions provide the facility for password protecting access to data stored on backup device or encrypt the data in the media.)

Backup media shall be secured against environmental and physical threats.

• Backup tapes shall be stored in a fire resistant safe.
• Access to the fire resistant safe containing the backup media shall be restricted.
• Access to the room where the fire resistant safe is placed shall be protected through access control mechanisms.
• Environmental conditions like dust, humidity, fire etc. shall be considered while selecting media storage room.
• Backup media shall not be exposed to direct sunlight or other heat radiating sources.

For critical applications, a copy of the backup shall be stored offsite. Backup media shall be properly packaged to prevent damage and tampering while transferring to offsite location. In cases, where the offsite location belongs to a third party, appropriate agreements shall be signed to ensure safety of the media.

• Backup media shall be securely disposed.
• Backup media shall be disposed under the following conditions:
  • Media life has expired
  • Media is damaged, and data is not accessible
• Following security measures shall be taken before disposing the media or re-using the media:
  • Essential data if possible, shall be copied to another media

Movement of backup media shall be authorized and approved by the Head of IT Infrastructure & Operations or the DMACC official designated by him/her.

• A record for tape movement shall be maintained by the backup administrator for backup process as and when the tape is moved to offsite location for archiving as per the backup schedule
• Maintaining a chain of custody for media while in transit

Offsite Backup Security

For critical applications, a copy of the backup shall be stored offsite.

• The Executive Director, Information Solutions or backup administrator shall develop the schedule when the backup shall be transported to offsite location.

Retention period for offsite storage shall be defined.

• The Executive Director, Information Solutions or backup administrator shall identify the period for backup retention at offsite location.

Adequate security measures shall be taken to ensure that media is transported securely to offsite location.

• The media shall be protected from unauthorized tampering or information disclosure during transportation to offsite location.
• The data in the media shall be encrypted and the media shall be kept in a tamper proof case and sent to offsite location.

Adequate security measures shall be taken to ensure protection of data in media from unauthorized disclosure or modification.

• The offsite location shall ensure the safety of the media while in their premises. In case the offsite location belongs to a third party, an agreement shall be signed to ensure the security of the backup tapes.
• The data in the media shall be encrypted and the media shall be kept in a tamper proof case and then sent to offsite location.

Review of the off-site location inventory shall be done annually, and yearly review reports shall be maintained.

Migration of Backup Data

If there is a change in business application software or application used for taking backup, all previously backed up data that needs to be retained shall be migrated to a format that is readable by the new application.

If there is a change in backup media, all previously backed up data that needs to be retained shall be transferred to the new media.

Recovery Testing

Recovery testing shall be done periodically to ensure the integrity of data being backed up and good health of backup tapes or media.

The Executive Director, Information Solutions or backup administrator shall determine frequency of recovery testing.

• Frequency of recovery testing can be determined based on the following:
  • Criticality of the application
  • Existing Redundancy in place

The type of recovery testing shall vary depending on the criticality of data and availability of standby hardware.

All recovery tests need to be approved by corresponding department heads and the Executive Director, Information Solutions.

Backup administrator shall send the recovery status report to the respective department heads and the Executive Director, Information Solutions.

Backup Frequency

A detailed Backup Schedule shall be developed to capture the backup frequency, retention period and application details.

Application Software source codes and executable shall be backed up whenever there are any changes or upgrades to the application.

Data Archival

Inactive data which is not accessed frequently shall be archived and kept at offsite location.

Backup administrator must coordinate with the respective information owners in selecting and identifying the data to be archived and the risks identified for the data not being online.