5 Steps to Prove Backup Compliance for GDPR, NIS2 & Cyber Insurance

Your backups might be working fine—but could you prove it to an auditor, regulator, or insurer?

Many security leaders are stuck managing fragmented backup systems that have evolved over years. Outdated tools, multiple platforms, and spotty documentation can make compliance a real headache. Even if your backups are solid, showing they meet external requirements is a whole different story.

And the stakes are high. GDPR violations could mean fines of up to 4% of annual revenue. NIS2 is raising accountability standards for essential services. Plus, cyber insurers now expect detailed technical proof before issuing or renewing policies. Without proper documentation and validation, even the best backup systems can fall short under scrutiny.

Operational Success Doesn't Equal Compliance Proof

Backups have long been considered a background task—something handled by IT teams with little attention from the rest of the business. But times have changed. Regulations and insurance requirements now make it clear: proving compliance isn’t optional anymore.

GDPR requires clear evidence of data recovery, integrity, and availability measures. NIS2 expands these demands to cover more organisations, especially those offering essential services. At the same time, cyber insurers are no longer satisfied with simple checklists—they’re diving deep into technical assessments.

The real challenge isn’t whether your backup systems work—it’s proving they do. Even if your backups tick all the boxes, without proper documentation, testing records, and audit trails, you’re left exposed when it’s time to show the evidence.

Why 2025 Changes Everything

A mix of regulatory and market pressures is making backup compliance more important than ever:

• NIS2 Implementation: This updated directive brings stricter reporting and accountability requirements for essential services and their suppliers across the UK and EU.
• Tougher Cyber Insurance: Getting or renewing cyber insurance is getting harder. Insurers now want to see real, proven controls in place—not just good intentions.
• Stricter Audit Expectations: Regulators and auditors now expect offsite backups, immutable storage, regular recovery tests, and detailed documentation as standard.
• Data Sovereignty Challenges: Data retention and recovery rules are evolving under UK GDPR and industry-specific regulations like FCA requirements and ISO 27001.
• Incident Response Ties: Modern incident response plans now link recovery capabilities directly to your overall security. Your resilience depends on the success of your last backup restore.

How to Solve It: 5 Steps to Prove Backup Compliance

1. Map Backup Policies to Regulatory Requirements

Start by taking a closer look at your backup setup to make sure it ticks all the boxes for regulatory requirements. It’s not just about technical functionality—focus on aligning with the rules.

Double-check your retention periods to comply with GDPR’s "storage limitation" principle and any other specific regulations. Keep detailed documentation of data classification, and make sure your backup retention aligns with both business and legal needs. Also, verify that access controls are in place, including role-based permissions and audit logging, to stay compliant.

Make sure your encryption covers both data at rest and in transit, meeting or exceeding minimum standards. Don’t forget to check geographic storage requirements, especially if you’re dealing with EU data or operating in a regulated industry.

2. Validate Backup Immutability and Encryption Standards

Immutable backups—meaning once data is written, it cannot be changed, deleted, or encrypted, even by administrators—aren’t just a nice-to-have anymore, they’re a regulatory must. This guarantees recovery copies stay clean and reliable, even if production systems are compromised.

Consider using WORM (Write Once, Read Many) storage or cloud object storage with immutability settings. Make sure your setup includes detailed audit logs that track who accessed the data, when, and what they did. These logs are essential for both compliance and investigations. Think of immutability as putting your backups in a locked vault: you can read and use the data, but no one can tamper with it.

Don’t forget to document encryption methods, key management, and storage design. Regulators and insurers need to see that your backup data is secure both technically and procedurally.

3. Run and Document Routine DR Tests

Recovery testing is where many organisations struggle to stay compliant. Backups alone aren’t enough—you need to show that recovery works within the required time and parameters.

Make sure you define and document your Recovery Time Objectives (RTOs) and Recovery Point Objectives (RPOs) to meet both business and regulatory requirements. Test your recovery regularly across different scenarios, like restoring files, recovering systems, or handling a full disaster recovery.

Good documentation is essential. Keep logs, track success metrics, note any issues, and record fixes—that’s your proof that your recovery process works. Plus, many regulations require you to test and document this regularly.

4. Produce Evidence of Monitoring and Alerting

Backup monitoring isn’t just essential for operations—it’s crucial for compliance. You need to show you’re consistently monitoring backups with clear steps to fix any issues.

Track backup success rates, storage usage, and system health. Set up alerts for failed backups, storage issues, and security incidents, and document how you handle and resolve them.

Keep detailed logs showing backup success rates, how failures were addressed, and resolution times. This not only ensures compliance but also helps prevent gaps.

5. Prepare a Backup Compliance Pack

Put together a well-organised documentation package that external auditors, regulators, or insurers can easily review. Be sure to include things like architectural diagrams, policy documents, testing records, monitoring reports, and responsibility matrices.

Your compliance pack should clearly show how your backup processes meet specific regulatory requirements. Don’t forget to include proof of regular reviews, staff training records, and incident response procedures. Taking this proactive approach can save a lot of time during audits and shows strong risk management practices.

Transform Compliance from Burden to Competitive Advantage

Backup compliance is becoming a major focus, driven by GDPR, NIS2, and cyber insurance requirements. But instead of treating it as a burden, organisations that view compliance as an opportunity can unlock real benefits—stronger risk management, smoother audits, and even improved insurance terms.

By shifting perspective, backup compliance goes from being a stressful obligation to a powerful way to prove resilience and strengthen trust with customers, partners, and stakeholders.

Ready to turn compliance stress into confidence?

Join our live webinar, How to Build Disaster Recovery Against Ransomware Attacks, and learn from real-world examples how to align compliance with smarter resilience.