Resilience and
Recovery
Overview
Resilience and Recovery strategies are critical in OT environments, where data integrity, system uptime, and operational continuity are paramount. Implementing robust backup and recovery solutions ensures organizations can withstand and recover from cyberattacks, data corruption, or other disruptions.
Using modern approaches like immutable backups and WORM (Write Once, Read Many) storage technology is essential for protecting critical OT data against unauthorized changes, ransomware, and accidental deletion.
Importance
In OT environments, backup and recovery solutions face unique challenges, as downtime directly impacts production and safety. Effective recovery plans must consider not only backup frequency but also the immutability and isolation of backup copies to prevent tampering.
Compliance with standards like IEC 62443 and NCA OTCC mandates having recovery protocols that ensure data availability and integrity. These protocols are essential in industries where a minor interruption can lead to severe operational and safety implications.
Our Approach
CS4’s Resilience and Recovery solutions implement comprehensive OT-focused backup strategies to ensure data integrity and rapid recovery. Key elements include:
Immutable Backups and WORM Storage
- Immutable Backups: Our backup solutions use immutability to prevent data from being altered or deleted once stored, ensuring a clean, ransomware-proof backup. By integrating WORM storage, backups remain in a fixed, unchangeable state, available for rapid recovery without risk of contamination. Immutability aligns with the NCA OTCC 3-2-1 backup strategy, securing multiple copies across both onsite and offsite locations to create a robust recovery framework.
- WORM Storage: WORM technology is crucial for regulatory compliance, making backed-up data inaccessible for modification until the retention period expires. This capability meets NCA OTCC requirements and IEC 62443-3-3 SR 7.3 (Control system backup) for secure, tamper-evident data retention.
Automated Backup Scheduling and Air-Gapped Protection
- Automated Scheduling: Configured backups run on a scheduled basis, minimizing manual intervention and ensuring data is captured regularly. This scheduling is often adapted to align with maintenance windows in OT, balancing security with operational needs.
- Air-Gapped Backups: Air-gapped solutions isolate backups from the network, creating a physical barrier that prevents ransomware and unauthorized access. Air-gapping complements immutable backups by providing an additional layer of separation, helping organizations achieve compliance with standards requiring secure data isolation.
Recovery Testing
Recovery testing involves a series of planned exercises that replicate real-world recovery scenarios to ensure that all data, configurations, and system functionality can be restored effectively. Key aspects include:
Planned Testing Scenarios:
- Full System Recovery: Testing for the restoration of the entire OT environment, including critical systems and control applications. This comprehensive test verifies that the entire backup process can be executed without errors, covering all components, from data and configurations to control applications and network settings.
- Incremental Restoration: Tests that restore specific sections or components within the OT environment, such as particular PLC settings, databases, or application configurations. This verifies the flexibility of the recovery process for targeted needs.
Testing Frequency and Regular Scheduling:
- Scheduled tests, often conducted semi-annually or annually, ensure that recovery processes keep pace with system changes and updates. Frequency depends on regulatory requirements, the criticality of the OT environment, and the likelihood of system changes. Regularly scheduled recovery tests align with best practices from IEC 62443-2-4 for ongoing resilience validation.
Documentation and Verification:
- Each recovery test is meticulously documented to capture test objectives, processes, outcomes, and any encountered issues. This documentation is not only crucial for compliance and audit purposes but also serves as a historical reference for improving resilience strategies over time. Verification steps include reviewing results against organizational goals for Safety Integrity Level (SIL) and Security Assurance Level (SAL) requirements. By ensuring recovery times align with these levels, tests confirm that recovery procedures meet the necessary security robustness and risk reduction levels, aligned with both operational and safety standards in OT environments.
Continuous Improvement:
- Based on test outcomes, adjustments are made to backup and recovery procedures to address any gaps, inefficiencies, or failures. This feedback loop ensures that the resilience strategy remains dynamic and capable of evolving with the organization’s needs and technological changes.
Our Capabilities
Our resilience and recovery solutions are customized for high-stakes OT environments, where any downtime can result in operational and safety risks:
- Nuclear: Protecting data from unauthorized access with immutable backups, ensuring quick restoration of critical control data.
- Oil and Gas: Using air-gapped backups to secure drilling and pipeline data from potential ransomware attacks.
- Air Traffic Control: Safeguarding flight control data with immutable, scheduled backups that comply with industry standards, ensuring airspace continuity.
- Healthcare and Pharmaceuticals: Maintaining the integrity of patient records and drug production configurations through secure, immutable storage to comply with stringent regulatory requirements.
CS4 provides tailored solutions for OT environments to ensure data security, rapid recovery, and regulatory compliance. Our solutions deliver:
- Immutable, WORM-compliant storage for secure, tamper-evident backups.
- Scheduled backups and air-gapped storage to safeguard data against ransomware.