The integrity of restored assets is verified, the asset is deemed secure, and normal operating status is confirmed
Returning a system to production after an incident is not simply a matter of turning it back on. Systems restored from backup or rebuild must be verified as clean and functioning correctly before they handle production traffic. Integrity verification confirms that the restoration was successful and complete, that no attacker artifacts remain, and that the system is operating at expected performance and security parameters. Skipping this verification step risks either missing residual compromise or introducing corrupted data into production.
Implementation steps
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Define a restoration verification checklist
For each major system type, create a checklist of verifications to complete before returning to production after restoration: confirm OS and application versions match the approved baseline, verify security agents are installed and reporting, confirm no unexpected processes or scheduled tasks are running, validate that the system is sending logs to your monitoring platform, and confirm that application functionality is working correctly. Run this checklist for every system before re-enabling production traffic.
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Perform integrity scanning on restored systems
Before re-enabling production access, run your EDR agent's full scan on the restored system and confirm it returns clean. For web servers, run a web application scanner to confirm no web shells remain. For database servers, compare the current schema and data against a known-good baseline. For network infrastructure, verify configurations match the approved baseline. These automated checks catch issues that manual inspection would miss.
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Obtain formal sign-off before returning to production
Require explicit authorization before returning a restored system to production: the security team confirms eradication is complete and integrity verification passed, the system owner confirms functional testing is complete, and an appropriate manager or incident commander provides final authorization. Document this sign-off in the incident record. This gate prevents premature return to production and creates accountability for the decision.
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Evidence required
Restoration verification procedures
Documented procedures for verifying restored systems before returning to production.
- · Post-restoration verification checklist in the incident response runbook
- · System hardening baseline used for comparison during verification
- · Security scan procedures required before production return
Verification and sign-off records
Evidence that restored systems were verified before returning to production.
- · Incident ticket showing completed verification checklist and sign-off
- · EDR scan results confirming clean status before production return
- · System owner sign-off record from a past incident recovery
Related controls
Execute the recovery plan once the incident response process initiates recovery
Incident Recovery Plan Execution
Select, scope, prioritize, and perform recovery actions
Incident Recovery Plan Execution
Re-establish critical mission functions and cybersecurity services
Incident Recovery Plan Execution
The end of incident recovery is declared based on criteria, and incident-related documentation is completed
Incident Recovery Plan Execution