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Cold Site

What is Cold Site?

A backup facility that has the basic infrastructure (power, networking, cooling) but no pre-installed hardware or data. Cold sites are the least expensive disaster recovery option but have the longest recovery time.

Information Security

Terms that appear alongside cold site

Each of these is named in at least one of the same controls as cold site. The number is how many controls name both.

Frameworks that govern cold site

NIST Cybersecurity Framework 2.0View framework →ISO 27001:2022View framework →NIST SP 800-53 Rev 5View framework →

What the standards actually require on cold site

Requirements naming cold site across this standard, quoted from the control text.

NIST Special Publication 800-34 Revision 1, Contingency Planning Guide for Federal Information Systems2 controls

Operate recovery capability aligned with FIPS 199 impact level + NIST RMF integration per NIST SP 800-34 Rev 1 Appendix F (Sample Plans per Impact Level) + Chapter 4 (Information System Contingency Plan Development).

NISTSP34-8 · Recovery Capability by Impact Level, RTO/RPO, and Integration with NIST RMF →

Questions people ask about cold site

What is Cold Site?
A backup facility that has the basic infrastructure (power, networking, cooling) but no pre-installed hardware or data. Cold sites are the least expensive disaster recovery option but have the longest recovery time.
Why is Cold Site important for compliance?
Cold Site is a key concept in Information Security. Understanding cold site helps organizations meet regulatory requirements, reduce risk, and demonstrate due diligence during audits. Our compliance platform maps 686 frameworks with 311K cross-framework control mappings.
Which compliance frameworks address Cold Site?
Cold Site appears in the requirement text of NIST Special Publication 800-34 Revision 1, Contingency Planning Guide for Federal Information Systems. Across these standards we have identified 2 controls that name it directly, each linked to the control text on the compliance platform.
Where can I learn more about Cold Site?
Explore our compliance framework pages to see how cold site applies across different standards and regulations. Our implementation guides provide step-by-step guidance, and the compliance platform offers AI-powered analysis of how this concept maps across 686 frameworks.

See how Cold Site applies across compliance frameworks

Our platform maps 686 frameworks with 311K cross-framework control mappings. Explore how this concept is addressed across standards.

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Written and maintained by Gerard Blokdyk, The Art of Service.