Backup and Recovery Solutions Guide for Australian Organisations

Australian organisations face an escalating threat landscape. Ransomware attacks increased by 24% in 2024, with the average cost of a data breach in Australia reaching $4.26 million (IBM, 2024). Furthermore, the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) reported 527 notifiable data breaches in the second half of 2024, with human error and cyber incidents accounting for 67% of cases. As a result, backup and recovery solutions are not optional; they are foundational to cyber resilience, business continuity, and regulatory compliance.

Consequently, this article examines backup and recovery solutions in the context of Australian organisations, covering RTO/RPO fundamentals, compliance requirements (ISO/IEC 27001, ASD Essential Eight, SOC 2), architecture options, and vendor selection criteria. Whether you are a CISO evaluating managed services or an IT manager building a backup strategy, this guide provides the evidence-led framework you need.

Backup vs Recovery: Understanding the Difference

Backup refers to the process of creating copies of data and storing them in secondary locations. In contrast, recovery is the process of restoring data and resuming business operations after a loss event, such as hardware failure, ransomware attack, or accidental deletion.

Unfortunately, many organisations mistakenly believe that having backups equates to recovery capability. However, backups alone do not guarantee recovery. Instead, recovery requires tested processes, documented runbooks, verified restoration times, and incident response coordination. A backup that cannot be restored within the required timeframe is, in practice, useless.

Therefore, this distinction is critical when evaluating backup and recovery solutions. Organisations must assess not only whether backups exist, but also whether they can recover within acceptable timeframes and with acceptable data loss.

RTO and RPO Explained: The Foundation of Backup and Recovery Strategy

Two metrics underpin every backup and recovery strategy: Recovery Time Objective (RTO) and Recovery Point Objective (RPO).

Specifically, Recovery Time Objective (RTO) is the maximum tolerable downtime before business impact becomes unacceptable. RTO is measured from the point of failure to the point of full system restoration. For instance, a payment processing system with an RTO of 2 hours means the organisation must restore the system within 2 hours of failure to avoid unacceptable business disruption.

Similarly, Recovery Point Objective (RPO) is the maximum acceptable data loss, measured in time. RPO defines how much data the organisation can afford to lose. An RPO of 1 hour means backups must be taken at least hourly, ensuring no more than 1 hour of transactions are lost in a failure scenario.

RTO and RPO are determined through business impact analysis, criticality assessment, and regulatory requirements. Typical examples include:

• Tier 1 system (e.g., payment processing): RTO 2 hours, RPO 15 minutes
• Tier 2 system (e.g., CRM): RTO 8 hours, RPO 4 hours
• Tier 3 system (e.g., file shares): RTO 24 hours, RPO 24 hours

RTO and RPO drive backup frequency, storage architecture, and cost. Systems with stringent RTO/RPO requirements demand frequent backups, high-performance storage, and rapid restoration capabilities, all of which increase cost. Conversely, systems with relaxed RTO/RPO can tolerate daily backups and slower restoration.

Once RTO and RPO are defined, organisations can design backup and recovery architecture to meet these targets.

Backup and Recovery Architecture: Key Components

Backup and recovery architecture comprises several components, each with distinct advantages and trade-offs. Specifically, these include on-premises backup, cloud backup, hybrid approaches, and protective measures such as air-gapping and immutability.

On-Premises Backup

On-premises backup involves physical tape libraries, network-attached storage (NAS) devices, or backup appliances located in the organisation’s data centre. Notably, advantages include full control over data, no cloud egress costs, and the ability to implement air-gapped backups. However, disadvantages include capital expenditure, ongoing maintenance burden, and physical security risk (e.g., fire, theft, natural disaster).

Cloud Backup

Cloud backup stores data in public cloud environments such as AWS, Azure, Google Cloud, or specialist SaaS providers. In this model, advantages include scalability, reduced capital expenditure, and built-in redundancy across multiple availability zones. Conversely, disadvantages include egress costs when restoring large datasets, latency for large restorations, and data sovereignty concerns for organisations subject to Australian regulatory requirements.

Hybrid Backup

Hybrid backup combines on-premises and cloud storage, consequently providing fast local recovery (short RTO) and offsite disaster recovery capability (long-term retention in the cloud). Furthermore, this approach is increasingly common among Australian organisations seeking to balance cost, performance, and compliance.

The 3-2-1 Backup Rule

The 3-2-1 backup rule is a gold standard for resilience, recommended by both the Australian Cyber Security Centre (ACSC) and the US National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). Specifically, the rule states:

• 3 copies of data: one primary copy and two backups
• 2 different storage types: e.g., disk and tape, or disk and cloud
• 1 offsite copy: physically or logically separated from the primary site

This approach ensures that a single failure, such as ransomware or natural disaster, cannot destroy all copies of data.

Air-Gapped Backups

Air-gapped backups are physically or logically isolated from production networks. This isolation is critical for ransomware defence, as attackers cannot encrypt or delete backups that are not network-accessible. Air-gapping can be achieved through physical tape storage, write-once read-many (WORM) storage, or cloud storage with immutable retention policies.

Immutable Backups

Immutable backups cannot be altered or deleted for a defined retention period. This prevents ransomware actors from deleting backups before encryption, ensuring a clean recovery point. Immutability is increasingly mandated by compliance frameworks, including ASD Essential Eight Maturity Level Three.

These architectural principles are foundational. However, many organisations are shifting to managed services to reduce operational complexity.

Backup and Recovery as a Service (BaaS/DRaaS)

Backup as a Service (BaaS) provides managed backup with cloud storage, monitoring, and support. In addition, Disaster Recovery as a Service (DRaaS) extends this model to include full disaster recovery orchestration, including failover to cloud infrastructure.

Benefits of BaaS and DRaaS

BaaS and DRaaS offer several advantages. First, organisations benefit from reduced capital expenditure through a shift from capital expenditure (capex) to operational expenditure (opex). Additionally, fixed pricing models provide predictable monthly costs and eliminate surprise bills. Furthermore, 24/7 monitoring and alerting enable proactive detection of backup failures. Moreover, compliance automation streamlines retention policies, audit logs, and restoration testing. Finally, managed service providers conduct quarterly restoration tests on behalf of the organisation, ensuring expert-led recovery testing.

Risks and Considerations

Despite these benefits, BaaS and DRaaS introduce several risks. First, proprietary backup formats may complicate migration to alternative providers, creating vendor lock-in. Second, organisations must verify that backups are stored in Australian data centres to maintain data sovereignty. Third, it is essential to verify that the service level agreement (SLA) covers restoration time, not merely backup completion time. Finally, egress fees, storage tiering, and premium support tiers can inflate costs, resulting in hidden expenses.

When to Choose BaaS

BaaS is particularly suited to organisations with limited internal IT resources, compliance-driven backup requirements (such as ISO/IEC 27001 and ASD Essential Eight), or a need for 24/7 incident response capability. Regardless of the chosen architecture, Australian organisations must align backup and recovery solutions with compliance requirements.

Backup and Recovery Compliance: Australian Regulatory Landscape

Australian organisations operate under a complex regulatory landscape that mandates specific backup and recovery controls.

ISO/IEC 27001:2022

ISO/IEC 27001 is the international standard for information security management systems (ISMS). Specifically, two controls are directly relevant to backup and recovery:

• A.10.1 (Information backup): organisations must maintain backup copies of information, software, and configurations, and test restoration capability
• A.12.3 (Information backup): backup procedures must be documented, verified, and logged

ISO 27001 auditors expect documented backup schedules, restoration test logs, and evidence of offsite storage. Organisations seeking ISO 27001 certification must demonstrate that backup and recovery processes are consistently applied and regularly tested.

ASD Essential Eight Maturity Level Three

The Australian Signals Directorate (ASD) Essential Eight framework is a baseline cybersecurity standard for Australian organisations. Specifically, at Maturity Level Three, backup requirements include:

• Daily backups of important data and software configurations
• Offsite or segmented storage: backups must be stored offline or in a separate, segmented network to prevent ransomware spread
• Quarterly restoration testing: organisations must test restoration at least every three months
• Retention aligned with business needs: retention periods must meet legal and operational requirements
• Immutability: backups must be write-once read-many (WORM) or otherwise protected from unauthorised modification or deletion

The ASD Essential Eight Maturity Model (2024) emphasises that backups are critical for ransomware recovery. Consequently, organisations that fail to implement these controls face prolonged downtime and potential regulatory penalties.

SOC 2 (Trust Services Criteria)

SOC 2 is a US-based assurance framework widely adopted by Australian SaaS providers and technology companies. Specifically, three Trust Services Criteria relate to backup:

• CC6.1: logical and physical access controls must protect backup data
• CC7.2: system continuity requires documented backup and restoration capability
• A.1.2: availability commitments require backup procedures and restoration testing

SOC 2 auditors review backup logs, restoration test evidence, and access controls to verify compliance.

IRAP (Infosec Registered Assessors Program)

For organisations seeking PROTECTED-level certification under the Australian Government’s Information Security Manual (ISM), backups must be stored in Australian data centres. Cross-border data transfers require risk assessment and contractual controls. IRAP assessments scrutinise backup location, encryption, and access controls.

Privacy Act 1988 / Australian Privacy Principles (APPs)

The Privacy Act 1988 imposes obligations on Australian organisations handling personal information. Australian Privacy Principle 11.1 (APP 11.1) requires organisations to take reasonable steps to protect personal information from loss, unauthorised access, and destruction. Backup and recovery is a reasonable technical control for APP 11.1 compliance.

Data Sovereignty Considerations

Australian organisations increasingly require backups stored within Australia due to:

• IRAP requirements
• Privacy Act obligations
• Sector-specific regulation (e.g., APRA CPS 234 for financial services)
• Risk of foreign government access under extraterritorial laws (e.g., US CLOUD Act)

Organisations must verify vendor data residency claims by reviewing subprocessor agreements and physical data centre locations.

With compliance requirements understood, organisations can build a fit-for-purpose backup and recovery plan.

How to Build a Backup and Recovery Plan

A robust backup and recovery plan requires six steps.

Step 1: Data Classification and Criticality Assessment

First, identify Tier 1 (mission-critical), Tier 2 (important), and Tier 3 (non-critical) systems. Then, define RTO and RPO for each tier. Mission-critical systems such as payment processing or electronic health records demand stringent RTO/RPO, whilst non-critical systems can tolerate longer downtime.

Step 2: Define Backup Scope and Frequency

Next, determine what data must be backed up, including databases, file shares, application configurations, virtual machines, and SaaS data (e.g., Microsoft 365, Salesforce). Additionally, define backup frequency such as daily, hourly, or continuous replication. Finally, establish retention periods of 30 days, 90 days, or 7 years, depending on compliance and business needs.

Step 3: Select Backup Architecture

Subsequently, choose on-premises, cloud, or hybrid backup. Select a storage provider such as AWS S3, Azure Blob Storage, or a specialist BaaS vendor. Additionally, implement encryption using AES-256 in transit and at rest.

Step 4: Implement Backup Automation and Monitoring

Following this, deploy automated backup jobs with alerting on failure. Similarly, implement dashboard visibility for backup success rate, storage utilisation, and RTO/RPO tracking.

Step 5: Test Restoration Regularly

Moreover, conduct quarterly full restoration tests, as required by ASD Essential Eight Maturity Level Three. Document test results, including time to restore, data integrity, and application functionality. Furthermore, treat test failures as incidents, requiring root cause analysis and remediation.

Step 6: Document and Train Incident Response Team

Finally, create a backup and recovery runbook with step-by-step restoration procedures. Maintain contact lists for vendor support and internal stakeholders. Additionally, conduct tabletop exercises to simulate ransomware or hardware failure scenarios.

A documented plan is only as good as the provider who implements it. Therefore, selecting the right partner is critical.

Selecting a Backup and Recovery Solutions Provider: Evaluation Criteria

When evaluating backup and recovery providers, Australian organisations should assess six key criteria.

Technical Capabilities

Providers must offer multi-cloud support (AWS, Azure, Google Cloud, on-premises), ransomware recovery features (immutable backups, air-gapping, threat detection), and automation and orchestration (one-click recovery, policy-driven retention).

Compliance Certifications

Providers must hold ISO/IEC 27001:2022 certification, maintain SOC 2 Type II reports, and undergo IRAP assessment if required for PROTECTED-level environments.

Data Sovereignty

Providers must operate Australian data centres, implement no cross-border data transfers without explicit consent, and provide clear SLA commitments on data residency.

Support

Providers must offer 24/7 incident response with defined SLA (e.g., 30-minute response time), restoration SLA (not just backup SLA), and dedicated account management for enterprise clients.

Transparency

Providers must offer clear pricing models with no hidden egress fees or surprise tiering costs. Fixed-cost engagements are preferred for budget predictability.

Vendor Neutrality

Providers should offer platform-agnostic solutions, avoiding lock-in to a single cloud provider. Additionally, flexibility to migrate between vendors without data lock-in is essential.

Ultimately, CyberPulse brings these criteria together in a compliance-first, vendor-neutral approach.

CyberPulse’s Backup and Recovery Solutions & Services

CyberPulse delivers vendor-neutral, compliance-first backup and recovery solutions designed for Australian organisations. Services include:

• 24/7 managed backup with proactive monitoring, alerting, and quarterly restoration testing
• Strategic partnerships with leading backup vendors, maintaining platform-agnostic flexibility
• Integration with compliance programs: ISO/IEC 27001, ASD Essential Eight Maturity Level Three, SOC 2
• Fixed-cost engagements with transparent SLA: no hidden fees, predictable monthly pricing
• Delivered by ex-CISOs and compliance leaders with decades of experience in regulated industries

CyberPulse’s approach ensures that backup and recovery solutions are not merely technical controls, but rather strategic enablers of business resilience and compliance. Reach out to one of our Backup Experts, for more information.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the difference between backup and disaster recovery?

Backup refers to copying data, whilst disaster recovery refers to restoring systems and resuming operations after a major incident. Specifically, disaster recovery encompasses backup, but also includes incident response, failover orchestration, and business continuity procedures.

How often should backups be tested?

At least quarterly for ASD Essential Eight Maturity Level Three. Furthermore, mission-critical systems should be tested monthly. Testing must verify restoration time, data integrity, and application functionality.

What is the 3-2-1 backup rule?

The 3-2-1 rule states: 3 copies of data (one primary, two backups), 2 different storage media (e.g., disk and cloud), and 1 offsite copy. Consequently, this ensures resilience against ransomware, hardware failure, and natural disaster.

How do immutable backups protect against ransomware?

Immutable backups cannot be encrypted or deleted by ransomware actors, thereby ensuring a clean recovery point. Typically, immutability is implemented through write-once read-many (WORM) storage or cloud retention policies.

What are the Essential Eight requirements for backups?

ASD Essential Eight Maturity Level Three requires daily backups, offsite or segmented storage, quarterly restoration testing, immutability, and retention aligned with business needs.

How much does backup and recovery as a service cost in Australia?

Costs vary by data volume, RTO/RPO, and support level. Typically, small and medium enterprises pay $500–$5,000 per month. Meanwhile, enterprise organisations with stringent RTO/RPO requirements pay $10,000 or more per month.

Useful Links

• Cybersecurity for SMB’s: A Starter Guide
• Incident Response
• Penetration Testing Cost Australia (2026) What businesses should budget for

Related Services

• Backup and Recovery Services
• Essential Eight Compliance Services

External Resources

• ASD Essential Eight Maturity Model
• ISO/IEC 27001:2022
• NIST Cybersecurity Framework
• IBM Cost of a Data Breach Report 2024