To make cloud backups resilient to an attack on a data center, design for the possibility that production systems, their administrators, and their region are all unavailable—or no longer trustworthy. Keep recovery copies protected by separate administrative controls and, where the workload requires it, in another region. Make important recovery points immutable for a defined retention period, protect encryption keys, and regularly test restores in an isolated environment. A successful backup job alone does not prove that you can recover.
What has to survive an attack?
“An attack on a data center” can mean different things: a facility or regional outage, ransomware that reaches production systems, or an attacker who gains cloud credentials and targets both production and its backups. Each can break a different part of the recovery chain.
- Geographic separation can help when a region or facility is unavailable.
- Identity and administrative separation can help when production credentials or a production control plane are compromised.
- Immutability can restrict changes or deletion during a configured retention period.
- Restore testing shows whether the data, access path, and recovery procedure work together.
These protections address different failure modes. A copy in another region may still be exposed to the same compromised administrators; a locked copy in the same region may still be unavailable during a regional outage. Plan for the failures that matter to each workload rather than treating any one control as a complete defense.
Which backup architecture should you choose?
Compare designs by who can administer or delete the copies, where they are stored, how long they resist changes, and how quickly they can be restored. The table describes broad patterns, not guarantees tied to a particular provider or service.
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- Easily store and access 2TB to content on the go with the Seagate Portable Drive, a USB external hard drive
- Designed to work with Windows or Mac computers, this external hard drive makes backup a snap just drag and drop
- To get set up, connect the portable hard drive to a computer for automatic recognition no software required
- This USB drive provides plug and play simplicity with the included 18 inch USB 3.0 cable
- The available storage capacity may vary.
| Design | Identity isolation | Geographic isolation | Primary trade-off |
|---|---|---|---|
| Backup in the production account and region | Low if the same administrators or credentials control production and backup | None | Simpler to operate, but shares major failure and compromise boundaries with production |
| Backup in a separate account or subscription, same region | Higher when administration and destructive permissions are independently controlled | None | Can limit the impact of production-account compromise, but does not address regional unavailability |
| Backup in a separate account or subscription and another region | Higher when administrators and recovery permissions are distinct | Higher | Can address both identity and regional risks; introduces storage, transfer, and recovery considerations |
| Offline copy for selected data | Not connected for routine online administration | Depends on where the media is stored | Can reduce exposure to online account compromise, but requires secure custody, rotation, and a workable restore process |
Microsoft’s Azure reference architecture describes two immutable copies across subscriptions and regions, isolated backup administration, and restore testing. AWS Well-Architected guidance discusses encryption, immutability, logical separation, and restore testing. These are provider examples, not universal prescriptions: implementation and feature availability depend on the service and its configuration.
How do you design the recovery chain?
- Map what must recover. Inventory critical data, applications, dependencies, configurations, identities, system images, and the order needed to bring services back. For each workload, set a recovery point objective (RPO: the amount of recent data loss the business can tolerate) and a recovery time objective (RTO: how long the service can be unavailable). Base copy frequency and recovery targets on those requirements.
- Create independent copies. Keep more than one recovery point and avoid relying on a single production-linked control plane. Consider a separate account, subscription, or tenant, with distinct privileged groups and permissions. Place a copy in another region when the workload must survive a regional outage and that placement is compatible with data-residency requirements.
- Protect important recovery points against alteration. Configure object lock or the provider’s equivalent retention protection where appropriate. Check legal, regulatory, and operational requirements before enabling settings that may be difficult or impossible to reverse. Tune frequently used recovery points separately from long-retention copies; their restore speed and storage costs may differ.
- Separate people, credentials, and keys. Use least privilege, strong authentication, and dedicated backup administration. Keep production operators from having unnecessary destructive backup permissions. Restrict access to encryption keys and recovery actions while preserving a controlled path for authorized restoration. Log and alert on retention-policy changes, deletion attempts, and unusual backup access.
- Protect the materials needed to rebuild. Include infrastructure-as-code, system images, software installers, configuration, and documented access to licenses where needed. Data alone may not be enough to recreate a functioning service.
- Test the complete recovery path. Restore representative data and systems into an isolated environment. Check integrity and application consistency, measure elapsed recovery time, and rehearse a scenario in which normal production identity or networking is unavailable. Record failures and update the design or procedure.
Does immutable storage protect backups from an attack?
Immutability can limit deletion or alteration during the configured retention period, which can make it harder for an attacker with ordinary backup access to destroy recovery points. It does not show that the backed-up data is clean, that the retained copy is complete, or that the restore process works. Pair it with separate administration, protected keys, monitoring, and restore drills.
Rank #2
- Easily store and access 5TB of content on the go with the Seagate portable drive, a USB external hard Drive
- Designed to work with Windows or Mac computers, this external hard drive makes backup a snap just drag and drop
- To get set up, connect the portable hard drive to a computer for automatic recognition software required
- This USB drive provides plug and play simplicity with the included 18 inch USB 3.0 cable
- The available storage capacity may vary.
Retention settings also have consequences. CISA warns that misconfigured immutable storage can create compliance or cost problems. Confirm that retention periods match business and legal needs before locking data, and understand who can change policies or access the recovery points.
Should you keep an offline copy?
An offline copy can provide an additional recovery route for selected critical data because it is not routinely reachable through a compromised online account. CISA advises organizations to maintain offline, encrypted backups of critical data and regularly test their availability and integrity in a disaster-recovery scenario.
Rank #3
- Easily store and access 1TB to content on the go with the Seagate Portable Drive, a USB external hard drive.Specific uses: Personal
- Designed to work with Windows or Mac computers, this external hard drive makes backup a snap just drag and drop. Reformatting may be required for Mac
- To get set up, connect the portable hard drive to a computer for automatic recognition no software required
- This USB drive provides plug and play simplicity with the included 18 inch USB 3.0 cable
- The available storage capacity may vary.
Encrypted removable media may suit small or carefully selected datasets; it is not a universal substitute for cloud recovery copies, especially for large or rapidly changing workloads. Plan how media will be encrypted, rotated, stored under physical custody, and restored, and include it in recovery drills.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.How do you know cloud backups can be restored?
Run restore exercises on a schedule appropriate to the workload and after material changes to backup policies, identities, or recovery procedures. A useful exercise goes beyond confirming that a job completed: it retrieves the copy, validates integrity, brings up representative systems in an isolated environment, and checks whether the result meets the workload’s RTO and RPO. AWS Well-Architected identifies failing to validate backup integrity through regular testing as a common anti-pattern; CISA likewise recommends testing backup availability and integrity.
Rank #4
- Easily store and access 4TB of content on the go with the Seagate Portable Drive, a USB external hard drive.Specific uses: Personal
- Designed to work with Windows or Mac computers, this external hard drive makes backup a snap just drag and drop
- To get set up, connect the portable hard drive to a computer for automatic recognition no software required
- This USB drive provides plug and play simplicity with the included 18 inch USB 3.0 cable
- The available storage capacity may vary.
Use test results to find practical blockers such as missing keys, inaccessible accounts, incomplete configuration, or restore times that exceed the business target. Update the recovery plan and access procedures when an exercise exposes a gap.
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