CISA Practice Question: Information Systems Operations and Business Resilience
An organization is selecting a disaster recovery (DR) site. The primary data center is located in a region prone to earthquakes. The DR site should be at a sufficient distance to avoid the same disaster. Which type of alternate site provides the best balance of cost and recovery time for a medium-sized organization?
⚠ Common exam trap
Test-takers frequently confuse 'warm site' with 'hot site' due to the similar terminology, but the key differentiator is the level of data synchronization and hardware readiness, not just the distance from the primary 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
✓
Warm site
A warm site is partially configured with some hardware, software, and data synchronization, offering a balance between cost and recovery time. For a medium-sized organization, it provides faster recovery than a cold site while being significantly less expensive than a hot site, making it suitable for a region prone to earthquakes where the DR site must be geographically distant.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Hot site
Why it's wrong here
Incorrect: Hot sites are fully operational and expensive, may exceed budget for medium organizations.
- ✓
Warm site
Why this is correct
Correct: Warm sites offer a balance of cost and recovery time, with some equipment pre-installed.
- ✗
Mobile site
Why it's wrong here
Incorrect: Mobile sites are specialized and not typically the primary choice for DR.
- ✗
Cold site
Why it's wrong here
Incorrect: Cold sites require significant setup time, likely exceeding RTO.
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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.