>> REF_DOC: STD_V1.1
The Cyber Recovery
Standard
The definitive architectural framework for systemic survival. This standard defines the structural requirements to recover critical operations when the production environment is compromised, encrypted, or destroyed.
// ZERO_TRUST_PREMISE
> CONTEXT: RANSOMWARE
> REPLICATION: UNSAFE
> TRUST_LEVEL: NULL
Traditional DR relies on connectivity. Connectivity propagates infection.
The Standard assumes the production network is hostile.
The 4 Mandates of the Vault
To survive a modern campaign, the architecture must satisfy four absolute requirements. If it fails one, it fails completely.
01. IMMUTABLE INTEGRITY
The data core must be WORM (Write Once, Read Many) at the hardware level. No admin, no root user, and no compromised credential can delete or modify the Golden Record.
02. STRUCTURAL ISOLATION
The Vault must exist outside the attack surface. It is not joined to the domain. It utilizes an operational air gap (push/pull isolation) to ensure no traversable network bridge exists for an attacker.
03. FORENSIC STERILITY
Recovery cannot occur in a dirty environment. The Standard mandates a "Clean Room" capability—ephemeral, sandboxed compute resources used to analyze and sanitize data before release.
04. ASYMMETRIC CONTROL
Identity is the perimeter. Production credentials must have zero privileges inside the Vault. Administrative power is architecturally severed to prevent a single compromised identity from destroying both copies.
Visualizing the Standard
From Untrusted Production to Sterile Gold Copy.
[FIG 1.0] ISOLATED RECOVERY PIPELINE
Implementation: The 3 Planes
To satisfy the structural isolation mandates, the Vault must be severed from Production on three distinct layers.
01. Control Plane
- Separate Identity: No shared Active Directory or LDAP with Production.
- Separate Management: Hypervisors and storage controllers utilize distinct credentials.
- No Trust Inherited: "Domain Admin" in Prod has zero privilege in the Vault.
02. Data Plane
- Pull-Mode Only: The Vault initiates all connections. Prod cannot "push" data.
- Immutable Landing: Initial storage targets are strictly WORM (Write Once, Read Many).
- Air Gap: Physical or diode-based separation of storage fabric.
03. Network Plane
- Dark Fiber: Ideally, the Vault is a physically distinct site.
- One-Way Egress: Data leaves only after passing forensic gates.
- Diode Constrained: Network diodes enforce unidirectional traffic at the hardware level.
>> CAPABILITY: CLEAN_DATA_INGESTION
We do not restore trust; we rebuild it. Incoming data is assumed hostile until proven otherwise.
THE PROCESS:
- Signature-less Analysis: Scanning for entropy changes (encryption) and mass-deletion events.
- Forensic Scrubbing: Mounting images in sandboxes to trigger dormant malware.
- Golden Image Synthesis: Rebuilding OS binaries from trusted external repos, injecting only the sanitized data.
>> CAPABILITY: EPHEMERAL_COMPUTE
The greatest risk during recovery is re-infection. The Vault must not sustain long-running instances.
THE PROCESS:
- On-Demand Only: Compute is provisioned solely for recovery tasks or drills.
- Auto-Destruction: Environments are "nuked" immediately post-task to prevent drift.
- The "Pop-Up" Lab: Testing occurs in isolated pods that cannot talk to each other.