The most immediate concern is that the data loss may exceed the recovery point objective (RPO). This is because the RPO of one hour defines the maximum tolerable data loss, yet the last viable backup is at least 24 hours old due to corrupted incremental backups, creating a gap of over 23 hours of lost transactions. On the CISA exam, this scenario tests your ability to distinguish between RPO and RTO under stress: while the four-hour RTO is also violated, the RPO violation from backup failure is the primary alarm because it represents irreversible data loss, not just downtime. A common trap is to focus on the RTO deadline, but remember that RPO governs data integrity, which is the auditor’s first concern. Memory tip: “RPO is the data you can’t get back; RTO is the time you can’t get back.”
CISA Practice Question: Information Systems Operations and Business Resilience
This CISA practice question tests your understanding of information systems operations and business resilience. Read the scenario carefully and evaluate each option against the stated constraints before committing to an answer. After answering, compare your reasoning against the explanation and wrong-answer breakdown below. Once you have made your selection, read the full explanation to reinforce the concept and understand why each distractor is designed to mislead on exam day.
An organization experiences a critical system failure during non-business hours. The IT team discovers that the last full backup was 48 hours ago, and the incremental backups for the past 24 hours are corrupted. The recovery time objective (RTO) for this system is 4 hours, and the recovery point objective (RPO) is 1 hour. Which of the following is the MOST immediate concern?
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
The data loss may exceed the recovery point objective (RPO)
The RPO of 1 hour means the organization can tolerate losing at most 1 hour of data. With the last full backup 48 hours old and incremental backups for the past 24 hours corrupted, the usable recovery point is at least 24 hours old, resulting in data loss far exceeding the 1-hour RPO. This gap between actual and acceptable data loss is the most immediate concern because it directly violates the business continuity requirement.
Key principle: Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
✗
The backup schedule should be changed to daily full backups
Why it's wrong here
This is a longer-term corrective action, not the most immediate concern.
✓
The data loss may exceed the recovery point objective (RPO)
Why this is correct
With corrupted incremental backups, data loss will be at least 48 hours, far exceeding the 1-hour RPO.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
✗
The root cause of the failure must be determined before recovery
Why it's wrong here
Root cause analysis should not delay recovery; the priority is to restore operations.
✗
The recovery time objective (RTO) of 4 hours will be exceeded
Why it's wrong here
RTO may be exceeded, but the immediate concern is the data loss that already occurred.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is that candidates focus on the RTO (4 hours) as the most urgent metric, overlooking that the RPO violation (data loss of 24+ hours vs. 1-hour tolerance) is a more fundamental and immediate business continuity failure, since lost data cannot be recovered by simply restoring faster.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
In backup strategies, RPO defines the maximum acceptable data loss measured in time, while RTO defines the maximum acceptable downtime. Incremental backups capture only changes since the last full or incremental backup; if the chain is broken (e.g., corrupted increments), the restore point rolls back to the last valid full backup, which in this case is 48 hours old. This scenario highlights the critical dependency on backup chain integrity—a single corrupted increment can invalidate all subsequent increments, forcing a restore from a much older full backup and causing data loss that far exceeds the RPO.
KKey Concepts to Remember
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
Find the constraint that changes the correct option.
Eliminate answers that are true in general but not in this case.
TExam Day Tips
→Watch for words such as best, first, most likely and least administrative effort.
→Review why wrong options are wrong, not only why the correct option is correct.
Key takeaway
Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Real-world example
How this comes up in practice
A practitioner preparing for the CISA exam encounters this exact type of scenario on the job. The correct answer here is not the most general option — it is the best answer for the specific constraint described. Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option. Real exam questions reward reading the full scenario before eliminating options, because the constraint defines which answer fits.
What to study next
Got this wrong? Here's your next step.
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
Information Systems Operations and Business Resilience — This question tests Information Systems Operations and Business Resilience — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: The data loss may exceed the recovery point objective (RPO) — The RPO of 1 hour means the organization can tolerate losing at most 1 hour of data. With the last full backup 48 hours old and incremental backups for the past 24 hours corrupted, the usable recovery point is at least 24 hours old, resulting in data loss far exceeding the 1-hour RPO. This gap between actual and acceptable data loss is the most immediate concern because it directly violates the business continuity requirement.
What should I do if I get this CISA question wrong?
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
What is the key concept behind this question?
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
About these practice questions
Courseiva creates original exam-style practice questions with explanations and wrong-answer analysis. It does not publish real exam questions, exam dumps, or protected exam content. Learn why practice questions differ from exam dumps →
Share a tip, memory trick, or ask about the reasoning behind this question. Do not post real exam questions, leaked content, braindumps, or copyrighted exam material. Comments are moderated and may be removed without notice.
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.
Question Discussion
Share a tip, memory trick, or ask about the reasoning behind this question. Do not post real exam questions, leaked content, braindumps, or copyrighted exam material. Comments are moderated and may be removed without notice.
Sign in to join the discussion.