Backup Security & Recovery Assessments
Confidence in Your Backups Before You Need Them
A backup is only useful if it survives an attack and can be restored when you need it. Pulsar IT reviews how your backups are protected, separated and monitored, and checks whether recovery matches what your business needs.
What is Backup Security & Recovery Assessments?
Most businesses have some form of backup, but fewer have checked recently whether it covers everything important, whether it would hold up against a ransomware attack and how long a full restore would really take. Those questions are often only asked during an emergency.
A Backup Security & Recovery Assessment is a structured, one-off review of your backup arrangements: what is backed up, where copies are kept, who can access or delete them, how failures are spotted and whether restores have been tested.
We compare what your backups can deliver with what your business needs, including how much data you could afford to lose and how quickly key systems need to be back. You get a clear, prioritised report and, where agreed, a test restore or a review of your recovery plan.
Key benefits
- A clear picture of what is and isn't backed up
- Weaknesses that could let ransomware reach your backups identified
- Evidence of whether data can actually be restored
- Recovery expectations compared with what your business needs
- Prioritised, practical recommendations
How does it work?
We review your backups end to end, from what's covered to how it would be restored, and compare the result with your business priorities.
Understand your priorities
We agree which systems and data matter most, how much data loss would be acceptable and how quickly each system needs to be available again.
Review protection and coverage
We review backup coverage, how copies are separated from your main systems, immutability, access and credentials, encryption, monitoring and alerting.
Test or review recovery
Where agreed, we carry out a test restore of selected data or systems to a safe location, or review your recovery plan and past test records.
Report and recommend
We provide a prioritised report showing the gaps between what your backups can deliver and what you need, with practical recommendations.
- Business data and systemsServers, files, Microsoft 365 and cloud apps
- Backup copiesCoverage, schedules and retention
- Protected and separatedImmutable or offline copies, restricted access
- Tested recoveryRestores checked against your recovery needs
What we review
- Backup coverage: servers, file shares, line-of-business applications, Microsoft 365 and other cloud services
- Backup frequency and retention, compared with how much data your business could afford to lose (the recovery point objective, or RPO)
- Realistic restore times, compared with how quickly systems need to be back (the recovery time objective, or RTO)
- Separation from production: whether at least one copy is kept off the main network, offline or in separate storage
- Immutability: whether backup copies are protected from being changed or deleted for a set period, where your backup platform supports it
- Credentials and access: who can sign in to backup systems, whether backup accounts are separate from everyday admin accounts and whether multifactor authentication is used
- Encryption of backup data in storage and while it is being copied
- Monitoring and alerting for failed or missed backups, and who acts on them
- Restore testing records, and a test restore where agreed
- The recovery plan: the order systems would be restored in, who is responsible and what each system depends on
Questions the assessment answers
Could an attacker delete our backups?
If an attacker gained administrator access to your network, could they reach and delete your backups? We check separation, immutability and access.
Is everything important included?
New systems, shared mailboxes and cloud apps are easy to miss. We compare what's backed up with what your business relies on.
How long would recovery really take?
Restoring a server or a large amount of data can take longer than expected. A test restore or plan review gives a realistic picture.
Would anyone notice a failed backup?
Backups can fail quietly for weeks. We check that alerts exist and that someone is responsible for acting on them.
Problems solved
Backups on the same network
If your only backup sits on the same network as your servers, ransomware can encrypt it along with everything else.
Backups that have not been tested
A backup that hasn't been restored is an assumption. Testing shows whether data comes back, and how long it takes.
Unclear what's covered
Systems added over time, and cloud data that people assume is protected, can fall outside the backup.
The same login opens everything
If the account that manages your network can also delete your backups, one stolen password can remove both.
Recovery expectations don't match reality
The business may expect systems back within hours when the current setup would take days. The assessment makes the gap visible.
What's included
Included as standard
- Backup coverage review
- Protection, immutability and separation review
- Review of access and credentials for backup systems
- Monitoring and alerting review
- A test restore of agreed data, or a review of your recovery plan
- A prioritised recommendations report
Optional or scoped
Available on request and confirmed in your proposal; not part of the standard service.
- Additional test restores, including full-system recovery tests
- Implementing the recommendations, quoted separately
- Managed backups through Backup & Disaster Recovery
- Microsoft 365 Backup where cloud data isn't currently protected
What's not included
- Backup software, storage, licences or hardware
- Recovering live data during an actual incident, which is separate work
- Fixing backup issues found, unless agreed as a separate project
- Commitments about future recovery times; results reflect the systems and tests at the time of the review
The assessment reflects your backups at the time of the review. A successful test restore shows that the data tested could be recovered on that day; it doesn't promise that future restores will succeed or take the same time.
Immutability, separation and alerting options depend on your backup platform, storage and licences. Where a test restore could affect live systems, we agree the approach with you first.
Who it's suitable for
- Businesses that would struggle to operate without key systems for a few days
- Organisations that haven't tested a restore recently
- Businesses whose backups sit on the same network as their servers
- Companies asked by insurers or clients about ransomware resilience
- Businesses that have recently changed systems, moved to the cloud or changed IT provider
Pricing
This service is tailored to your business, so we confirm the price after a short conversation about your requirements. There is no charge for the conversation.
Use the quote builder to add Backup Security & Recovery Assessments to an indicative quote, or book a free security review and we'll recommend what fits.
Price
Price Based on Scope
Price to be confirmed following a review of your requirements.
What affects the price
- Number of systems and data sources
- Backup platforms in use
- Number of sites and cloud services
- Whether a test restore is included
- Complexity of recovery requirements
- Documentation available
All prices exclude VAT.
Add to Your QuoteFrequently asked questions
We already have backups. Why do we need an assessment?
Having backups and being able to recover from them are different things. The assessment checks whether your backups cover what matters, would withstand an attacker with admin access and can be restored in a time your business can live with.
What does 'immutable' mean?
An immutable backup can't be changed or deleted for a set period, even by an administrator. It's one of the most useful protections against ransomware, which often tries to delete backups. Whether it's available depends on your backup platform.
Will a test restore disrupt our systems?
Test restores are normally made to a separate location so live systems aren't affected. We agree what is restored, where and when before we start.
Can you tell us how long a recovery would take?
We can estimate it from your data volumes, storage and connection speeds, and a test restore gives real-world evidence for whatever was tested. We can't promise how long recovery from a real incident will take, because that depends on what's affected.
Is this the same as your Backup & Disaster Recovery service?
No. Backup & Disaster Recovery is an ongoing managed service. This assessment is a one-off, independent check of whatever backups you have today, whoever provides them.
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