Cybersecurity
Backups
The control that actually gets a plant back online.
Written guides in this section
Full references, procedures, and diagnostic guides published under Backups.
What to Back Up in a Control System
What a utility must be able to restore after a failure or attack: controller programs and firmware, SCADA and historian, HMI panels, drive and instrument parameters, network configurations, licenses, installers, and documentation, and how often each changes.
10 min readUpdated Sep 5, 2026
PLC Program Backups
What a complete controller backup contains, how often to take one, where to keep it, why the upload from the running controller is not the master, and the verification that turns a folder of files into a recovery plan.
9 min readUpdated Sep 5, 2026
SCADA Backups
What a SCADA backup must contain to bring a system back: the project export, an image of each server, the databases, historian archives, licenses, certificates, scripts, and network device configurations, with frequency, retention, and the restore procedure.
9 min readUpdated Sep 5, 2026
Backup Testing
Why backups that have never been restored fail when needed, and how to find out: spot restores, full restores of a server to an isolated machine, controller program restores to a spare, archive reads, timing each one, and the findings and record that follow.
8 min readUpdated Sep 5, 2026
Offline Copies
The backup copy that survives ransomware: why anything reachable over the network will be encrypted too, what offline and immutable mean, options from rotated drives to immutable storage, what goes in the offline set, and the restore test that uses it.
8 min readUpdated Sep 5, 2026
Topics in this area
What To Back Up
What To Back Up — practical reference notes for controls engineers, integrators, and technicians working with backups.
PLC Program Backups
PLC Program Backups — practical reference notes for controls engineers, integrators, and technicians working with backups.
SCADA Backups
SCADA Backups — practical reference notes for controls engineers, integrators, and technicians working with backups.
Backup Testing
Backup Testing — practical reference notes for controls engineers, integrators, and technicians working with backups.
Offline Copies
Offline Copies — practical reference notes for controls engineers, integrators, and technicians working with backups.
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References to manufacturers, products, model numbers, software platforms, technical specifications, companies, standards organizations, or other organizations are provided for informational purposes and do not imply sponsorship, endorsement, authorization, or affiliation unless expressly stated. Manufacturer specifications must be independently verified against current manufacturer documentation.