ISC2 CC Business Continuity, DR & Incident Response Practice Question
A company's BCP requires that critical systems be restored within 2 hours of disruption. Which metric defines this?
⚠ Common exam trap
ISC2 often tests the distinction between RTO and RPO, where candidates confuse the time to restore service (RTO) with the acceptable data loss window (RPO).
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
✓
Recovery Time Objective (RTO)
The Recovery Time Objective (RTO) defines the maximum acceptable time that a system or application can be unavailable after a disruption. In this scenario, the requirement to restore critical systems within 2 hours directly specifies the RTO. It is a key metric in business continuity planning that drives the design of failover and recovery strategies.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Mean Time to Repair (MTTR)
Why it's wrong here
MTTR measures the average time taken to repair a failed component once work begins, not the maximum tolerable downtime after disruption. It is tempting because both concern repair duration, but the BCP's two-hour target is a Recovery Time Objective (RTO), an agreed maximum for restoring service.
- ✓
Recovery Time Objective (RTO)
Why this is correct
Recovery Time Objective defines the maximum acceptable time to restore a system after disruption. A two-hour restoration requirement is therefore an RTO, distinguishing it from Recovery Point Objective, which instead specifies tolerable data loss measured in time.
- ✗
Service Level Agreement (SLA)
Why it's wrong here
An SLA is a contractual commitment covering service availability and support response, not a recovery-time metric. It is tempting because SLAs often quote restoration targets, but the BCP's two-hour requirement is a Recovery Time Objective (RTO), which specifies the maximum tolerable downtime for critical systems.
- ✗
Recovery Point Objective (RPO)
Why it's wrong here
RPO defines the maximum acceptable data loss measured backwards from the disruption, expressed as a time interval, not the restoration deadline. It is tempting because both are BCP recovery metrics, but the two-hour requirement concerns downtime, which is the Recovery Time Objective (RTO).
Go deeper
Related to this question
Learn chapter
Secure Network Architecture and Design
Key term
BCP
BCP is a proactive process that creates a framework to ensure critical business functions continue during and after a disruptive event.
Key term
Business continuity
Business continuity is the capability of an organization to continue delivering essential services during and after a disruptive event.
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Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
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