Cluster has backup enabled

Check ID: clusters_backup_enabled
Provider: MongoDB Atlas
Service: clusters
Severity: HIGH
Categories: resilience
Resource type: NotDefined

What this check verifies

MongoDB Atlas clusters have automated backups enabled (cloudBackup/backup_enabled) to generate snapshots and support restore operations

Risk

Without backups, deleted or corrupted records are irrecoverable, undermining integrity. Failures or bad deployments can cause prolonged unavailability with no restore path. Lacking point-in-time recovery prevents precise rollbacks, amplifying the blast radius of mistakes or ransomware.

Recommendation

Enable Cloud Backups on all production clusters and define backup schedules and retention that meet business RPO/RTO. For critical data, enable point-in-time recovery. Apply least privilege and separation of duties to backup access, protect against deletion with policy, monitor backup health, and perform regular test restores.

Remediation

CLI
Terraform
Dashboard steps

curl -sS -u "<PUBLIC_KEY>:<PRIVATE_KEY>" --digest -H "Content-Type: application/json" -X PATCH "https://cloud.mongodb.com/api/atlas/v1.0/groups/<PROJECT_ID>/clusters/<CLUSTER_NAME>" --data '{"cloudBackup":true}'

resource "mongodbatlas_cluster" "<example_resource_name>" {
  project_id = "<example_resource_id>"
  name       = "<example_resource_name>"

  cloud_backup = true  # Critical: enables Cloud Backups so the check passes
}

References

Where this check fires

This check runs on every scheduled scan against your MongoDB Atlas account. Findings appear at Cloud Security → Findings filterable by Check ID = clusters_backup_enabled. To re-evaluate after a fix, hit Run now on the account’s schedule under Cloud Security → Schedules — the next scan re-checks this control and marks the finding fixed or keeps it persistent.

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Where this check fires