1. Purpose and Scope
1.1 Purpose
This comprehensive policy establishes the mandatory requirements and procedures for backing up critical system data, configurations, and production environments at 5X. The policy ensures data integrity, business continuity, and compliance with regulatory requirements including SOC 2 Type II standards. It provides detailed guidance for implementing, maintaining, and testing backup systems while maintaining the security and confidentiality of customer data.
1.2 Scope
This policy encompasses all production systems, customer data, and critical business data managed by 5X, specifically including:
AWS-hosted production databases and datastores System configurations and infrastructure settings Customer metadata and platform configuration data Authentication and authorization systems Critical business documents and operational records Monitoring and logging systems Development and deployment pipelines 2. Policy Statement
5X maintains a robust, multi-layered backup system designed to protect all critical data and ensure business continuity. Our backup strategy leverages AWS's enterprise-grade infrastructure and combines real-time replication, point-in-time snapshots, and encrypted archive storage to provide comprehensive data protection. All backup procedures must comply with:
SOC 2 Type II security requirements Data protection regulations including GDPR Service Level Agreements (SLAs) with customers AWS best practices for data backup and recovery Industry standard encryption and security protocols 3. Roles and Responsibilities
3.1 Engineering Operations Team
Implementation and maintenance of AWS RDS backup systems Configuration and monitoring of CloudWatch alerts for backup status Management of backup encryption keys and security protocols Regular testing of backup restoration procedures Maintenance of backup infrastructure and storage systems Documentation of backup procedures and configurations Response to backup-related incidents and failures 3.2 Head of Engineering & Technology
Strategic oversight of backup and recovery systems Approval of major changes to backup infrastructure Review of monthly backup performance metrics Authorization of recovery testing procedures Alignment of backup strategies with business objectives Resource allocation for backup systems Final approval for recovery operations 3.3 Engineering Team
Integration of new systems with backup infrastructure Implementation of backup requirements for new features Participation in recovery testing and validation Documentation of system-specific backup requirements Support for backup restoration procedures Monitoring of system-specific backup metrics 4. Backup Requirements
4.1 Production Data
Database Backups
Automated daily RDS snapshots with retention for 30 days Infrastructure Configuration
Daily snapshots of EC2 instances and EBS volumes Version-controlled infrastructure as code (IaC) Regular export of security group and networking configurations 4.2 Customer Data
Metadata Storage
Daily snapshots retained for 30 days Access Controls
Strict RBAC (Role-Based Access Control) for backup systems Audit logging of all backup access and operations Encryption of all backup data using AWS KMS Regular rotation of encryption keys 5. Backup Procedures
5.1 Automated Backup Process
Database Backups
Daily Automated Snapshots Initiated during low-traffic window (02:00 UTC) Verification of snapshot completion Automated tagging and cataloging Retention policy enforcement 5-minute interval capture Secure transmission to backup storage Automated validation of log sequence Monitoring of backup size and timing System Configuration Backups
Version control system backup Environment configuration export Secrets management backup 5.2 Backup Monitoring
Real-time Monitoring
Immediate notification for backup failures Warning alerts for approaching storage limits Replication lag notifications Encryption key expiration alerts Periodic Reviews
Review of backup completion status Verification of replication health Storage utilization check 5.3 Backup Testing
Regular Testing Schedule
Random file recovery validation Configuration restoration check Access control verification Full disaster recovery simulation Multi-system recovery coordination Business continuity validation Documentation review and update 6. Security Controls
6.1 Encryption
Data Protection
AES-256 encryption for all backup data AWS KMS for key management Regular key rotation (every 90 days) Secure key storage and access controls Transmission Security
TLS 1.3 for data in transit Private subnet configuration Network traffic encryption 6.2 Access Control
Authentication
Multi-factor authentication requirement Role-based access control Just-in-time access provisioning Regular access review and audit Authorization
Principle of least privilege Regular permission review 6.3 Physical Security
Data Center Security
AWS SOC 2 compliant facilities Geographic distribution of backups Physical access monitoring Infrastructure Protection
Regular security scanning 7. Recovery Time Objectives (RTO) and Recovery Point Objectives (RPO)
7.1 RTO Standards
Critical Systems
Production databases: 2 hours Authentication systems: 1 hour Monitoring systems: 4 hours Non-Critical Systems
Reporting systems: 8 hours Analytics platforms: 12 hours Development environments: 24 hours Historical data: 48 hours 7.2 RPO Standards
Critical Data
Production databases: 5 minutes Customer metadata: 15 minutes Authentication data: 5 minutes Transaction logs: 1 minute Non-Critical Data
Development data: 24 hours Historical records: 48 hours 8. Emergency Procedures
8.1 Backup Failures
Initial Response
Immediate notification to Engineering Operations Stakeholder communication Corrective action implementation 8.2 Emergency Recovery
Response Procedures
