Title

Members of the Backup Operators group must have separate accounts for backup duties and normal operational tasks. (Cat II impact)

Discussion

Backup Operators are able to read and write to any file in the system, regardless of the rights assigned to it. Backup and restore rights permit users to circumvent the file access restrictions present on NTFS disk drives for the purpose of backup and restore. Members of the Backup Operators group must have separate logon accounts for performing backup duties.

Check Content

Review the Backup Operators group in Computer Management. If the group contains no accounts, this is not a finding. If the group does contain any accounts, this must be documented as specified below. Documentable Explanation: Any accounts that are members of the Backup Operators group must be documented with the IAO including application accounts. Each Backup Operator will have a separate user account for backing up the system and for performing normal user tasks.

Fix Text

Ensure that each member has separate accounts for user tasks and for backup operator functions. Create the necessary documentation that identifies the members of the Backup Operators group.

Additional Identifiers

Rule ID: SV-29521r2_rule

Vulnerability ID: V-1168

Group Title: Members of the Backup Operators Group

Expert Comments

CCIs tied to check.

Controls tied to check. These are derived from the CCIs shown above.