BSI C5:2020 OPS-08 — Data Backup and Recovery - Regular Testing

What this control requires

Tests restore procedures annually to verify compliance with RTO/RPO and contractual agreements. Reports deviations for prompt corrective actions, ensuring reliable data recovery and minimizing cloud customer data loss during disruptions.

In plain English

Tests restore procedures annually to verify compliance with RTO/RPO and contractual agreements. In practice, this means you can prove you risk agreements-level controls on a defined cadence.

Why it matters

BSI C5 is the default cloud-security baseline German public-sector buyers and many DAX-listed enterprises expect; gaps here directly block procurement in the DACH region and frequently appear as must-have items in EU public-tender documents.

This control is rated high. Auditors expect a named owner, a remediation SLA, and a tooling artefact that evidences continuous operation.

What an auditor looks for

A C5 attesting auditor (under ISAE 3000 / IDW PS 860) tests both the design and — for a Type 2 — the operating effectiveness over the attestation period. For each criterion they look for both the Basic and any in-scope Additional objectives.

Within Operations Security, the assessor will trace your implementation back to the catalogue reference (Criterion OPS-08) and look for objective evidence on the latest two assessment cycles.

How to implement

Cloud Posture

CSPM. Run Wiz / Prisma / Defender for Cloud / Security Command Center over every account; auto-ticket findings above your accepted-risk threshold.

Code Review Testing

Pipeline. Require at least one human reviewer plus passing CI (lint, type, unit, security scan) before merge — protected branches enforce this.

Operational checklist

• Risk. Document the trigger, the owner and the cadence.
• Review. Document the trigger, the owner and the cadence.
• Security. Document the trigger, the owner and the cadence.
• Protection. Document the trigger, the owner and the cadence.
• Data. Document the trigger, the owner and the cadence.
• Scope: agreements, protection, cloud customer data.

Evidence to collect

• Policy Document. A signed and version-controlled policy / standard / procedure document.
• Infra Scan. Continuous infrastructure-posture telemetry — AWS Config, Azure Policy compliance, GCP Organisation Policy, Wiz / Prisma findings.

Signed policy or standard documents the safeguard. Focus: Data Backup and Recovery - Regular Testing.

Common pitfalls

• Treating CSPM findings as a backlog instead of a hot queue: findings older than the policy SLA accumulate until the auditor asks why.

Related controls in BSI C5:2020

• Criterion OPS-22 — Testing and Documentation of known Vulnerabilities
• Criterion OPS-19 — Managing Vulnerabilities, Malfunctions and Errors - Penetration Tests
• Criterion OPS-06 — Data Protection and Recovery - Concept
• Criterion OPS-05 — Protection Against Malware - Implementation
• Criterion CRY-01 — Policy for the use of encryption procedures and key management
• Criterion DEV-09 — Approvals for provision in the production environment

References

• Bundesamt für Sicherheit in der Informationstechnik (BSI) — BSI C5:2020
• Catalogue identifier: Criterion OPS-08

Topics: governance riskdata protectionbackup recoverycloud posturecode review testingdata loss prevention