ISC2 CISSP (Certified Information Systems Security Professional)Security and Risk ManagementHard
A critical infrastructure organization is performing a Business Impact Analysis (BIA) to prioritize its systems for disaster recovery planning. They have determined that the maximum acceptable downtime for their SCADA system is 1 hour, and the maximum acceptable data loss is 15 minutes. Based on these findings, which of the following is the MOST appropriate disaster recovery strategy for the SCADA system?
- AHot site with synchronous data replication
- BCold site with weekly backups
- CCloud-based archival storage
- DWarm site with daily backups
Show answer & explanationAnswer & explanation
Correct answer: A. Hot site with synchronous data replication
An RTO of 1 hour and RPO of 15 minutes are extremely stringent requirements, indicating near real-time recovery and minimal data loss. A hot site with synchronous data replication is the only option that can realistically meet both these objectives, providing immediate failover and virtually no data loss.
Why the other options are wrong
- B. A cold site with weekly backups would result in RTO and RPO measured in days or weeks, far exceeding requirements.
- C. Cloud-based archival storage is for long-term retention, not rapid recovery of operational systems.
- D. A warm site with daily backups would not meet an RTO of 1 hour or an RPO of 15 minutes.
Hot Site
A fully operational offsite data center that is immediately available and equipped to take over operations in the event of a disaster.
- Highest level of disaster recovery capability.
- Offers the lowest RTO and RPO.
- Most expensive disaster recovery option.
Memory trick: Hot is ready, Warm is warming, Cold is coming soon.