Has your organization implemented redundancy measures to eliminate single points of failure across all critical systems and infrastructure?
Explanation
Single points of failure represent vulnerabilities where the failure of one component can cause an entire system or service to fail. Organizations should implement redundancy through techniques such as clustering, load balancing, failover systems, and geographic distribution of resources. This includes redundant network paths, power supplies, hardware components, and data storage solutions.
Evidence could include network and infrastructure diagrams showing redundant components, disaster recovery documentation that identifies critical systems and their redundancy measures, or configuration documentation for high-availability clusters and load balancers.
Implementation Example
Avoid single points of failure in systems and infrastructure
ID: PR.IR-03.266
Context
- Function
- PR: PROTECT
- Category
- PR.IR: Technology Infrastructure Resilience
- Sub-Category
- Mechanisms are implemented to achieve resilience requirements in normal and adverse situations
Related questions
- Has your organization implemented network segmentation that separates different trust boundaries and platform types, with controlled communications between segments?
- Has your organization implemented network segmentation to isolate internal networks from external networks, with controls that restrict inbound traffic to only necessary communications?
- Has your organization implemented a zero trust architecture that restricts network access to each resource based on the principle of least privilege?
- Does your organization perform endpoint health checks before allowing devices to access production resources?
- Has your organization implemented physical safeguards to protect equipment from environmental threats such as flooding, fire, wind, excessive heat, and humidity?
- Do you require service providers who operate systems on your behalf to implement protections against environmental threats and maintain adequate operating infrastructure?

