Certified Information Security Manager (CISM)Incident ManagementMedium
A CISO is developing a disaster recovery plan (DRP) for a cloud-native application hosted across multiple regions. The application leverages microservices, serverless functions, and managed databases. Which of the following strategies is MOST aligned with a cloud-native approach to disaster recovery?
- AImplementing a multi-region active-active architecture where traffic is distributed across regions, and services are always running.
- BUtilizing a traditional backup and restore strategy, storing snapshots of databases and configurations in object storage.
- CContracting with a third-party managed service provider (MSP) to handle disaster recovery for the entire cloud environment.
- DEstablishing a warm site in a secondary cloud region with pre-provisioned virtual machines (VMs) and data replication.
Show answer & explanationAnswer & explanation
Correct answer: A. Implementing a multi-region active-active architecture where traffic is distributed across regions, and services are always running.
A multi-region active-active architecture is inherently cloud-native, distributing workload and data across multiple regions continuously. This approach provides the highest availability and resilience, enabling seamless failover with near-zero RTO and RPO, which is ideal for cloud-native applications designed for scalability and resilience.
Why the other options are wrong
- B. Traditional backup and restore, while necessary, is a fundamental recovery primitive, not a comprehensive cloud-native DR strategy for high availability.
- C. An MSP can manage DR, but it's a service model, not a technical strategy for cloud-native DR architecture itself.
- D. A warm site is a valid DR strategy but less 'cloud-native' than active-active, as it still implies a 'failover' event rather than continuous operation.
Cloud-Native Disaster Recovery
DR strategies specifically designed to leverage the inherent capabilities of cloud platforms, such as global distribution, elasticity, and automation.
- Often involves active-active or active-passive multi-region deployments.
- Emphasizes automation, infrastructure-as-code, and resilience built into application design.
- Aims for low RTO/RPO by distributing resources and data.
Memory trick: Cloud-native DR means your app lives everywhere, all the time.