hardMultiple ChoiceObjective-mapped
CISA Practice Question: A multinational corporation has implemented a hot…
A multinational corporation has implemented a hot site disaster recovery solution for its critical financial applications. Which of the following is the MOST important consideration to ensure the effectiveness of the hot site?
Answer choices
Why each option matters
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Regular, documented testing of the failover process is performed
Without regular testing, the hot site may not function as expected. Options A, B, and C are important but secondary: A is part of planning, B is operational, C is compliance but not the most critical for effectiveness.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Data replication latency is less than 15 minutes
Why it's wrong here
Recovery point objective is critical but must be validated through testing to ensure it meets requirements.
- ✗
The hot site is located in a different seismic zone
Why it's wrong here
Geographic separation is important but not the most important; testing validates the entire recovery process.
- ✗
The hot site complies with regional data privacy regulations
Why it's wrong here
Compliance is necessary but does not guarantee operational effectiveness.
- ✓
Regular, documented testing of the failover process is performed
Why this is correct
Testing is the only way to verify that the hot site will work when needed, including all technical and procedural aspects.
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Same concept, more angles
3 more ways this is tested on CISA
These questions test the same concept from different angles. Work through them to make sure you can recognise it however the exam phrases it.
Variation 1. Match each testing technique to its description.
medium- ✓ A.Walkthrough: An informal meeting where the author presents code or design to peers for feedback.
- ✓ B.Inspection: A formal peer review process using a predetermined checklist to detect errors.
- ✓ C.Desk Checking: A manual review of code or design by the developer himself/herself, often line by line.
- ✓ D.Unit Testing: Testing individual components or modules in isolation to verify they function correctly.
- E.Walkthrough: A formal peer review process using a predetermined checklist.
- F.Inspection: An informal meeting where the author presents code or design to peers.
Why A: Testing techniques vary in formality and purpose. Walkthroughs are informal, inspections are formal with checklists, desk checking is a self-review, and unit testing verifies individual components. Common confusions involve swapping walkthrough and inspection definitions.
Variation 2. Which THREE of the following are key metrics to include in a disaster recovery test report? (Select exactly 3.)
hard- ✓ A.Amount of data lost (actual vs. RPO)
- B.Cost per incident
- ✓ C.Time taken to recover each critical system
- D.Number of personnel involved
- ✓ E.Percentage of successful restores
Why A: The amount of data lost (actual vs. RPO) directly measures whether the recovery process met the Recovery Point Objective. This metric validates the effectiveness of backup frequency and replication lag, which is critical for determining if the DR plan preserved data integrity within acceptable loss limits.
Variation 3. During an incident response exercise, the IT team discovers that the failover to the disaster recovery (DR) site failed because the DR site's storage area network (SAN) was not zoned correctly for the replicated data. Which of the following controls would BEST prevent this issue?
hard- A.Maintaining a configuration management database (CMDB)
- B.Implementing a change management process for SAN configurations
- C.Using automated replication monitoring tools
- ✓ D.Conducting regular disaster recovery testing including full failover
Why D: Regular disaster recovery testing that includes a full failover is the only control that directly validates that the DR site's SAN zoning is correctly configured to accept replicated data. Without such testing, misconfigurations like incorrect zone sets or missing WWPN (World Wide Port Name) mappings in the SAN fabric remain undetected until an actual failover is attempted. This aligns with the CISA emphasis on testing recovery procedures to ensure business continuity.
JA
Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
This CISA practice question is part of Courseiva's free ISACA certification practice question bank. Courseiva provides original exam-style practice questions with explanations, topic-based practice, mock exams, readiness tracking, and study analytics to help learners prepare for the CISA exam.