CISA Practice Question: Information Systems Operations and Business Resilience
In business continuity planning, a company identifies a critical business process with a maximum tolerable downtime (MTD) of 4 hours. What is the primary purpose of this metric?
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
✓
To determine the recovery time objective (RTO)
MTD defines the maximum time a process can be unavailable without causing severe business impact. It sets the recovery time objective (RTO) target.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
To define the backup frequency
Why it's wrong here
Backup frequency is based on recovery point objectives (RPO), not MTD.
- ✗
To calculate the mean time between failures (MTBF)
Why it's wrong here
MTBF is a reliability metric, not related to downtime tolerance.
- ✗
To establish service level agreements (SLAs)
Why it's wrong here
SLAs may incorporate MTD, but MTD is a business requirement.
- ✓
To determine the recovery time objective (RTO)
Why this is correct
MTD directly influences the RTO, which must be less than or equal to MTD.
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Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
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