ISC2 CC Business Continuity, DR & Incident Response Practice Question
A primary data center is destroyed. The disaster recovery plan calls for activation of a hot standby site. If the RTO is 2 hours, what is the expected recovery time?
⚠ Common exam trap
ISC2 often tests the misconception that RTO is a guaranteed recovery time rather than a maximum allowable downtime, leading candidates to incorrectly choose 'Exactly 2 hours' or 'More than 2 hours' when the correct answer is that recovery should be faster than the RTO.
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
✓
Less than 2 hours
The RTO (Recovery Time Objective) defines the maximum acceptable downtime, not the guaranteed recovery time. A hot standby site is fully operational and synchronized, so recovery can be completed in less than the RTO if the disaster does not cause additional complications. Option D is correct because the expected recovery time should be less than the 2-hour RTO, assuming the hot site functions as designed.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Exactly 2 hours
Why it's wrong here
RTO is a maximum, not an exact target; actual time may vary but should be ≤ 2.
- ✗
More than 2 hours
Why it's wrong here
Exceeding the RTO would indicate failure of the DR plan.
- ✗
Unknown, depends on the disaster
Why it's wrong here
A hot site provides predictable recovery time, so it is not unknown.
- ✓
Less than 2 hours
Why this is correct
Hot sites are designed to achieve RTOs; recovery is expected within the target.
Go deeper
Related to this question
Learn chapter
Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery
Key term
Disaster recovery
Disaster recovery is a set of policies, procedures, and tools that help an organization restore critical IT systems and data after a disruptive event.
Key term
Disaster recovery plan
A Disaster Recovery Plan (DRP) is a documented, structured approach that outlines how an organization can quickly resume critical IT systems and operations 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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