--- title: "Offline OT Configuration Backups for Telcos & U… | Firevault" url: https://fire-vault.com/solutions/offline-ot-configuration-backups description: "Protect critical OT network configuration backups offline for telcos and utilities, with physical disconnection, controlled access and tested restoration." lang: en-GB --- Image: Offline Secure Storage icon (https://fire-vault.com/__l5e/assets-v1/a78723d3-5b1a-48bf-9040-c767b759823d/oss-icon-correct.png) OSS® · Telcos & utilities # Offline OT configuration backups. Keep the baseline you need to rebuild. Critical services depend on configurations that cannot safely be recreated from memory. Keep an accepted copy physically disconnected from the connected estate, ready for authorised, verified recovery. Plan your offline recovery copy: https://fire-vault.com/contact?subject=offline-ot-configuration-backups What to keep offline ## A backup of the wrong configuration is not a recovery plan. A compromised management system can alter device settings, delete engineering projects or distribute a corrupted baseline. An always-connected backup may preserve those changes unless you retain and verify earlier accepted versions. **Offline Secure Storage® protects selected retained copies through physical disconnection.** While disconnected, the selected data path is physically broken. Authorised access reconnects it temporarily; the connection is broken again when the session ends. This protects the retained data copy. It does not isolate the live OT network, stop a running process or replace operational backup, failover, identity controls and incident response. Physical disconnection is not proof of immutability or a clean configuration. ## Retain a complete recovery set. Start with configurations you cannot reconstruct safely, and the dependencies required to use them. Scope exports with engineering owners and suppliers so collection does not disrupt operational equipment. ### Network configuration Approved router, switch and firewall exports, routing policies, segmentation rules and remote-access settings. Record the device, software version and change approval for each retained baseline. ### Control and engineering projects PLC and RTU projects, SCADA and HMI configurations, historian settings and engineering workstation recovery material. Keep asset-specific versions and supplier dependencies together. ### Recovery dependencies Compatible firmware, installation media, licences, configuration catalogues and approved restoration instructions. Manage recovery credentials and keys under a separate, recoverable custody policy. ### Acceptance and change evidence Known-good checksums, approved change records, compatibility checks and restoration results. Retain earlier accepted baselines rather than automatically replacing them with the latest export. ## Different estates. The same need for an accepted baseline. Image: Telecommunications mast and network equipment (https://fire-vault.com/assets/sector-square-telecoms-CudTHHj1.jpg) ### Rebuild the network from an accepted baseline. When network administration or an engineering repository is compromised, the latest configuration export may no longer be trustworthy. Keep an independently retained record of how essential transport and site connectivity should operate. - Transport and site router configurations, routing policy and access controls. - Management-network segmentation and approved remote engineering access settings. - Version-matched firmware, device inventories and recovery instructions. Illustrative sector examples, not customer deployments or a validated installation specification. ## Separate the copy from everyday access. Treat offline retention and restoration as accountable engineering decisions, not an automatic overwrite cycle. ### Approve the baseline Identify asset, owner, version and acceptance status. Check integrity and maintain earlier recovery points before promoting a new export. ### Retain it offline Keep the selected copy physically disconnected between authorised sessions. Agree retention, custody and access controls, including what happens during a connected window. ### Authorise access Use the separate, non-IP connection-control process for an agreed access session. Document independent recovery access if production accounts or devices are unavailable. ### Verify before restoration Check the retained version, target compatibility and dependencies in an approved recovery environment. Engineering and service owners authorise any live change and confirm the result. ## Prove recovery before the incident. - Restore an earlier accepted configuration when the latest export is corrupted. - Demonstrate recovery with production identities, repositories and key infrastructure unavailable. - Check firmware, licences, tool versions, replacement hardware and supplier support dependencies. - Test collection and restoration away from live safety-critical processes unless a validated procedure explicitly permits otherwise. - Record measured recovery times and recovery points against the service’s agreed objectives. - Verify disconnection after access and document monitoring, alert delivery and response ownership separately. An offline copy does not guarantee a recovery time, prevent every attack or make a restoration safe. Those outcomes depend on the complete recovery process and deployment-specific testing. ## Fit the copy to your estate. OSS delivery depends on your requirements: a Firevault Bunker, your premises or a hybrid. Agree custody, jurisdiction, transfer procedures and access with the accountable service owner. Capacity, access needs and the recovery set determine the product, not the number of devices alone. Discuss Storage (https://fire-vault.com/storage) or Enterprise (https://fire-vault.com/enterprise) for larger recovery inventories. For broader retained OT data, see OSS for operational technology (https://fire-vault.com/oss-for-operational-technology). This page concentrates on telco and utility configuration recovery, without changing that existing solution. For the access cycle, see How OSS works (https://fire-vault.com/how-oss-works). ## Guidance to support your assessment. NIST SP 800-82 Rev. 3: Guide to OT Security (https://csrc.nist.gov/pubs/sp/800/82/r3/final) provides the broader OT security and recovery context. NCSC’s on-premises backup principles (https://www.ncsc.gov.uk/collection/ransomware-resistant-backups/principles-for-ransomware-resistant-on-premises-backups) discuss isolation, resilience, earlier versions, key management and alerts. Neither reference endorses Firevault or establishes conformity for your deployment. Use the NCSC backup compliance guide (https://fire-vault.com/learn/guides/ncsc-cloud-backup-compliance-guide) to structure evidence requests, while assessing the guidance applicable to the complete service. Mark Fermor · CTO, CMO & Founder · 31 October 2026 ## Start with one critical recovery set. Bring the asset list, accepted configurations and recovery dependencies. Agree what belongs offline, who may access it and how restoration will be tested. 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