# CIS 11.3 — Protect Recovery Data

- Source: https://support.icompaas.com/support/solutions/articles/a_gen_cis_113_61a1172a23-cis-113-protect-recovery-data
- Section: [Solutions](https://support.icompaas.com/support/solutions) › [AWS Checks New Version](https://support.icompaas.com/support/solutions/62000112673) › [Protect](https://support.icompaas.com/support/solutions/folders/f_gen_62000112673_protect)
- Last updated: 2026-05-30
- Publisher: iCompaas, Inc. (https://www.icompaas.com)

CIS · Control 11.3 · Priority: critical · Component: Protect

### What this control covers

Protect recovery data with equivalent controls to the original data. Reference encryption or data separation, based on requirements.

### Why it matters

Encryption and key management make data unreadable to attackers and unintelligible under data-breach safe-harbour clauses — a meaningful regulatory benefit.

### How to implement

#### AWS

Default to **SSE-KMS** with customer-managed keys for S3/EBS/RDS/Secrets Manager. Use **S3 Bucket Keys** and **S3 Block Public Access** at the account level, and turn on **S3 Object Lock** on backup buckets for ransomware resilience.

#### Azure

Store secrets in **Key Vault** (HSM-backed where required) with soft-delete + purge protection; use **customer-managed keys** for Storage, SQL, and Azure Disk Encryption. Tag PII data via **Microsoft Purview**.

#### GCP

Use **Cloud KMS** with customer-managed encryption keys (CMEK) for BigQuery, GCS, and Compute. **Sensitive Data Protection** (DLP API) inspects/de-identifies PII at scale.

#### Google Workspace

Enable **client-side encryption** for Drive/Docs and turn on **Drive Labels + DLP** rules to prevent external sharing of regulated data classes.

### Evidence to collect

-   `infra_scan` — See the iCompaas Evidence library for the canonical source for this evidence type.

Infrastructure posture tooling (AWS Config, Azure Policy, Nessus) verifies platform hardening. Focus: Protect Recovery Data.

### Quick checklist

-   Protect — Network / Data

### Related articles on this site

-   [Microsoft Cloud Security Posture Management (CSPM)](https://support.icompaas.com/support/solutions/articles/62000234105-microsoft-cloud-security-posture-management-cspm-)
-   [Ensure that encryption at rest is enabled for Amazon Athena query results stored in Amazon S3 in order to secure data and meet compliance requirements for data-at-rest encryption.](https://support.icompaas.com/support/solutions/articles/62000233406-ensure-that-encryption-at-rest-is-enabled-for-amazon-athena-query-results-stored-in-amazon-s3-in-orde)
-   [Enable Transparent Data Encryption with Customer-Managed Keys on Azure SQL Servers for Enhanced Data Security](https://support.icompaas.com/support/solutions/articles/62000234802-enable-transparent-data-encryption-with-customer-managed-keys-on-azure-sql-servers-for-enhanced-data-)
-   [Enable Transparent Data Encryption (TDE) on Azure SQL Databases to Protect Data at Rest](https://support.icompaas.com/support/solutions/articles/62000234805-enable-transparent-data-encryption-tde-on-azure-sql-databases-to-protect-data-at-rest)

## Related compliance guidance

- [SOC 2 compliance: a practical implementation guide for cloud-native SaaS teams](https://support.icompaas.com/compliance/soc-2-trust-services-criteria): Configuration checks like this one are the technical half of a SOC 2 / ISO 27001 programme — the guide shows where they fit, what else an auditor expects, and how to evidence them.
- [ISO/IEC 27001:2022 compliance: a practical implementation guide](https://support.icompaas.com/compliance/iso-27001-2022): ISO 27001 Annex A.8 (technological controls) is where cloud hardening evidence lands; the guide shows how to run the ISMS around it.