The Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC) is an important protocol for cybersecurity in our country. The CMMC is responsible for providing organizations that manage sensitive data tied to the Department of Defense, with guidance and certifying that their cybersecurity protocols are up to date.
In 2020, the original CMMC protocol was updated to the “2.0” model that compressed the process into a more refined and easy-to-follow process for businesses. This new model was not only more refined but also served to unite the CMMC protocol with the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) standards. This helped to unite the leading cybersecurity research with the CMMC in order to keep everyone on the same page.
Since the release of 2.0, organizations have been slowly working towards compliance and improving their cybersecurity protocols. One aspect of this cybersecurity protocol that is often overlooked is the CMMC’s recovery domain (RE). The recovery domain aspect of the CMMC, as the name implies, refers to the practices and protocols related to protecting the continuity of important data.
This involves securing backups of data and ensuring that this backup data is as safe as the original source of data itself. Implementing and testing backups for controlled unclassified information is now a requirement for organizations that need to attain CMMC certification.
What Does the CMMC 2.0 Recovery Domain Consist Of?
The CMMC Recovery Domain consists of two main capabilities. These include managing backup data and also managing information security continuity.
The details of these backup and recovery practices help to ensure that organizations that house sensitive data are able to properly respond to critical situations, have proper cybersecurity infrastructure in place and understand how to be protected at a level that is consistent with the NIST standards for cybersecurity.
The recovery aspect of the CMMC is one of the main instances where this protocol differs from the commonly referred to NIST-800 set of protocols that helped to inform the CMMC’s structure. This is mainly a result of the fact that many organizations that house sensitive data work with third-party service providers in order to assist with the development of backup protocols.
Establishing these recovery protocols is different for every organization. The type of data that is utilized, the manner in which data is housed and the necessary number of backups all contribute to determining the best way to approach establishing a compliant recovery domain for your cybersecurity infrastructure.
Due to the fact that this process differs for everyone, it can be difficult to know where to start or how to know which practices apply to you. For this reason, we have compiled a few of the best practices associated with this process:
CMMC Recovery Domain Best Practices
In order to best prepare for the backup and recovery aspect of the CMMC certification process, there are a few key points to understand and tips to keep in mind:
Eliminate single points of failure (SPOF’s)
Single points of failure are a major weak point in any cybersecurity infrastructure. In order to ensure data continuity, it is important to eliminate the presence of any single point of failure within your information systems.
A SPOF consists of one fault or malfunction that can cause the entire system to function improperly or fail. SPOFs apply to information storage as well, as just one point of failure is all a hacker needs to steal your data.
One of the most reliable approaches for minimizing SPOF’s is to create redundancy. This means that you should aim to increase the number of servers and backup systems that are responsible for any set of data housed within your infrastructure. This approach is a significant first step toward establishing a good recovery domain.
Utilize Automation
Using automated backup solutions can help you to improve the speed and throughput of your backup systems. It can even help you to establish more backup locations and increase redundancy as well. These backup solutions will normally have preferences that you can tailor to your specific needs, which enables them to run effectively in the background of your mainline servers.
Automation can be a powerful tool to reduce costs and improve the efficiency of your cybersecurity recovery domain protocols. It is important, however, to ensure that these solutions are battle-tested and proven to offer rigorous security that is in line with the NIST and CMMC.
Create a Disaster Recovery Plan
In addition to it being a requirement of the CMMC, a disaster recovery plan is a powerful tool you can use to also consider your recovery domain practices.
Every disaster plan addresses the worst-case scenarios involved in your cybersecurity infrastructure, and this approach can help you to begin to think about where the gaps in your armor are. This will often lead to the consideration of the backup and recovery practices that you need to address.
Achieve Compliance and Integrate the Proper Recovery Domain Practices for Your Organization
Designing and implementing strong recovery domain practices can be a difficult endeavor. Every organization has different needs but must also achieve compliance, so it can be difficult to know where to begin. If these tips still leave you with some lingering questions, contact our team of CMMC recovery experts today to learn more about how we can help you create a plan of action.