--- title: "Essential Eight: Backups You Can Actually Restore | StartCloud" description: "Module 6 of our free Essential Eight for Australian Business pathway: why attackers destroy backups first, what a tested restore means to an assessor, and why backup access has to be restricted so a compromised admin account cannot wipe them." lang: en json-ld: | [ { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@type": [ "LocalBusiness", "ProfessionalService" ], "@id": "https://startcloud.au/#business", "name": "StartCloud", "legalName": "Start Technologies Pty Ltd", "alternateName": "StartCloud Australia", "identifier": { "@type": "PropertyValue", "propertyID": "ABN", "value": "17 676 121 449" }, "slogan": "Go Beyond", "description": "StartCloud is Perth's cybersecurity-first AI MSP: managed IT, Essential Eight security, Microsoft 365 and cloud, networking, and practical AI for Australian businesses with 5 to 50 staff.", "url": "https://startcloud.au", "logo": "https://startcloud.au/og-image.png", "image": 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"https://www.google.com/maps/place/StartCloud/@-31.8648767,115.8069889,739m/data=!3m2!1e3!4b1!4m6!3m5!1s0x2a32a5b5d9e864b5:0x9f02690968f0e50c!8m2!3d-31.8648813!4d115.8095638!16s%2Fg%2F11vzbgtytj" ] }, { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@type": "LearningResource", "name": "Backups You Can Actually Restore", "description": "Module 6 of the Essential Eight for Australian Business pathway: the regular backups control, why attackers destroy backups first, what a tested restore means, and restricting who can reach your backups.", "educationalLevel": "Beginner", "learningResourceType": "Module", "isPartOf": { "@type": "Course", "name": "Essential Eight for Australian Business", "url": "https://startcloud.au/learn/essential-eight-for-australian-business", "provider": { "@type": "Organization", "name": "StartCloud", "url": "https://startcloud.au" } }, "author": { "@type": "Organization", "name": "StartCloud", "url": "https://startcloud.au" }, "datePublished": "2026-08-13", "dateModified": "2026-08-13", "url": "https://startcloud.au/learn/essential-eight-backups" } ] --- [![StartCloud](/assets/StartCloud-Logo-ByZE1kzP.svg "StartCloud: Cybersecurity-First Managed IT Services Perth")](/ "StartCloud | Managed IT Services Perth") - Cybersecurity - AI Solutions - Cloud - Technology - Networking - Explore [Contact Us](/contact "Contact StartCloud, Perth IT Support") Open menu Module 6 of StartCloud's Essential Eight for Australian Business learning pathway, in five short units with a knowledge check: what ASD's regular backups control actually asks for (data, software and settings, retained to suit business continuity, restoration tested, access restricted), why attackers deal with backups first and how ASD's Maturity Level Two and Level Three descriptions explain it, what a tested restore means to an assessor as opposed to a green tick in a dashboard, and why holding admin rights should not automatically grant access to the backups. Course contents [Pathway overview](/learn/essential-eight-for-australian-business) Pathway Essential Eight for Australian Business 0 of 5 units done in this module 1. [What it is, and who's asking ](/learn/what-is-the-essential-eight) 2. [Maturity levels ](/learn/essential-eight-maturity-levels) 3. [Patching ](/learn/essential-eight-patching) 4. [Access and privilege ](/learn/essential-eight-access-controls) 5. [What can run ](/learn/essential-eight-application-control) 6. Backups 1. The control nobody can bluff 2 min 2. Why attackers go for the backups first 2 min 3. What a tested restore actually means 1 min 4. Who can reach the backups 1 min 5. Knowledge check 2 min 7. [Where to start ](/learn/essential-eight-where-to-start) 8. [Proving it ](/learn/essential-eight-proving-it) # Backups You Can Actually Restore Module 6 · Recovery Unit 1 of 5 · about 2 min ## The control nobody can bluff Regular backups is the last of ASD's eight controls, and it is the odd one out. The other seven are about stopping bad things happening. This one exists for the day when all of that failed anyway, which is a humbling thing for a security framework to admit and the reason the framework is any good. It is also **the only control you cannot talk your way through**. Patching can be described. Admin privileges can be summarised. Backups end with someone saying "show me", and either a file comes back or it does not. What the control actually asks for Backups of the data, the software and the settings your business needs to keep running. Kept for as long as your continuity needs require. Restoration tested rather than assumed. And access to those backups restricted, so the people and accounts that can reach them are few and deliberate. What most businesses have A backup product with a green tick, bought some years ago, never restored from. Data covered, settings and software not. Reachable by the same admin account that does everything else. Nobody has checked what is inside it since the day it was configured. Notice that the control covers more than files People hear "backups" and think documents. The control is broader on purpose. If a ransomware attack takes out your systems, restoring the files is only part of getting trading again. You also need the software and the configuration that made those files useful, the settings on the server, the way the line of business application was set up. Businesses that only backed up data find that out during the worst week of their year. Mark done and continue ![StartCloud](/assets/StartCloud-Logo-ByZE1kzP.svg "StartCloud: Cybersecurity-First Managed IT Services Perth") Cybersecurity-led IT for Australian businesses. We manage security, compliance, and modern IT environments, so risk is governed, not guessed. 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