CRP Recovery Strategy & Planning 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Which factor is MOST critical when selecting a recovery strategy for a time-sensitive business function?
- Total cost of the strategy
- Recovery Time Objective (RTO) (Correct answer)
- Number of staff required
- Vendor geographic location
Correct answer: Recovery Time Objective (RTO)
The RTO defines the maximum allowable downtime and therefore drives which recovery strategies are viable for time-sensitive functions.
Question 2: A 'hot site' recovery facility differs from a 'warm site' primarily because:
- Hot sites are owned by the organization while warm sites are leased
- Hot sites have fully operational systems ready for immediate use (Correct answer)
- Hot sites are located closer to the primary facility
- Hot sites require less staff to activate
Correct answer: Hot sites have fully operational systems ready for immediate use
A hot site maintains fully configured, up-to-date systems that can assume production workloads almost immediately upon activation.
Question 3: The primary purpose of a Mutual Aid Agreement (MAA) in recovery planning is to:
- Transfer legal liability between organizations
- Provide reciprocal resource sharing during a disaster (Correct answer)
- Establish regulatory compliance documentation
- Define insurance coverage terms
Correct answer: Provide reciprocal resource sharing during a disaster
MAAs allow two or more organizations to share personnel, equipment, or facilities on a reciprocal basis when one party experiences a disaster.
Question 4: When conducting a gap analysis for recovery planning, the organization is identifying:
- The difference between current recovery capabilities and target recovery objectives (Correct answer)
- Gaps in employee training records
- Missing documentation in the BCP binder
- Regulatory requirements not yet implemented
Correct answer: The difference between current recovery capabilities and target recovery objectives
A gap analysis compares the current state of recovery capabilities against the desired state defined by RTOs, RPOs, and other objectives.
Question 5: Which recovery strategy option is MOST appropriate when the Recovery Point Objective (RPO) is near zero?
- Daily tape backup to an offsite vault
- Synchronous data replication to an alternate site (Correct answer)
- Weekly full backups with daily incrementals
- Manual data re-entry from paper records
Correct answer: Synchronous data replication to an alternate site
Synchronous replication mirrors data in real time, ensuring virtually zero data loss and satisfying a near-zero RPO.
Question 6: In recovery planning, 'work-around procedures' are best described as:
- Automated scripts that bypass system errors
- Manual or alternative methods to perform critical tasks when normal systems are unavailable (Correct answer)
- Shortcuts that permanently replace standard processes
- Vendor-provided patches applied during recovery
Correct answer: Manual or alternative methods to perform critical tasks when normal systems are unavailable
Work-around procedures are pre-documented manual or alternative methods that allow staff to continue critical operations without standard systems.
Question 7: Which document formally authorizes the activation of the Business Continuity Plan?
- The Business Impact Analysis report
- The Crisis Communications Plan
- The Declaration of Disaster by an authorized executive (Correct answer)
- The Vendor Service Level Agreement
Correct answer: The Declaration of Disaster by an authorized executive
A formal declaration by a pre-designated executive authority is required to officially activate the BCP and commit recovery resources.
CRP Recovery Strategy & Planning 2
Which factor is MOST critical when selecting a recovery strategy for a time-sensitive business function?