ISC2 CC Practice Question: Business Continuity, Disaster Recovery, and Incident Response
A company follows the 3-2-1 backup rule. It has two full backups: one on an external hard drive in the server room and one on tape in a safe on-site. Which step should be taken to fully comply with the rule?
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
✓
Store the tape copy in a secure offsite location
The 3-2-1 rule requires three copies of data (including the original), stored on at least two different media types, with at least one copy stored offsite. Currently, the company has the original data plus two backups (external HDD and tape) — three copies total — but both backups are on-site. To fully comply, one of the backup copies must be moved to an offsite location. Option B, storing the tape copy offsite, satisfies the '1 offsite' requirement.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
No action needed; the rule is satisfied
Why it's wrong here
The 3-2-1 rule requires three copies, on two media types, with one off-site; the stem has only two copies, both on-site. It is tempting because two distinct media are present, but the missing off-site copy and third instance mean a site-wide loss destroys all backups.
- ✓
Store the tape copy in a secure offsite location
Why this is correct
Storing the tape copy offsite satisfies the 3-2-1 rule's requirement for one copy at a separate geographic location, protecting against site-wide disasters such as fire or flood. The external hard drive and on-site tape already provide three copies across two media types, so only geographic separation remains outstanding.
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Use cloud storage as an additional copy
Why it's wrong here
While cloud can be offsite, the rule requires at least one offsite; moving the tape offsite also works.
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Add a third copy to the external hard drive
Why it's wrong here
Adding a third copy to the same external hard drive keeps every copy on one device, so a single hardware failure destroys all backups. It is tempting because it reaches three copies, but the rule demands two distinct media and one off-site location, neither of which this satisfies.
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JA
Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
This CC practice question is part of Courseiva's free ISC2 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 CC exam.