ISC2 CC Practice Question: Business Continuity, Disaster Recovery, and Incident Response
A regional hospital's emergency department relies on a patient tracking system. The BIA shows the system's maximum tolerable downtime (MTD) is 2 hours. The recovery time objective (RTO) is currently 6 hours, and the recovery point objective (RPO) is 24 hours. Which action best aligns the recovery capability with the business requirement?
⚠ Common exam trap
It's easy for candidates to confuse the MTD with the RTO, or assuming the MTD can be changed to match an existing RTO, when the MTD is a fixed business requirement.
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
✓
Reduce the RTO to 2 hours or less and reduce the RPO to a level that meets clinical data loss tolerance.
The MTD is the maximum time a business process can be unavailable. For the patient tracking system, the MTD is 2 hours. The RTO, which is the target time to restore the system, must be less than or equal to the MTD. The current RTO of 6 hours exceeds the MTD, so it must be reduced. The RPO must also be evaluated to ensure data loss is acceptable. Reducing the RTO and reassessing the RPO ensures recovery aligns with the business 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.
- ✗
Increase the MTD to 6 hours so it matches the existing RTO.
Why it's wrong here
The MTD is a business-driven metric derived from the impact of downtime, not an arbitrary technical parameter that can be adjusted to match an existing RTO. Extending the MTD to 6 hours would imply the hospital can tolerate six hours without the patient tracking system, which contradicts the BIA finding. Changing the MTD does not improve actual recovery capabilities and could endanger patients by misrepresenting the true tolerance for outage.
- ✗
Implement a hot site that can recover the system within 24 hours, matching the RPO.
Why it's wrong here
A hot site is a recovery facility with pre-installed hardware and software, but its recovery time depends on the specific configuration and data synchronization. A 24-hour recovery time would still violate the 2-hour MTD. Moreover, the RPO relates to data loss, not recovery time. This option confuses RPO with RTO and fails to address the MTD, so it does not align recovery capabilities with the business requirement.
- ✓
Reduce the RTO to 2 hours or less and reduce the RPO to a level that meets clinical data loss tolerance.
Why this is correct
The MTD of 2 hours is the absolute limit the hospital can tolerate without unacceptable patient safety risk. The RTO must be less than or equal to the MTD to ensure recovery occurs within that window. Additionally, the RPO must be reviewed to ensure the acceptable data loss aligns with clinical needs, because a 24-hour RPO could mean losing a full day of patient records. This option directly addresses both the time to recover and the data loss tolerance.
- ✗
Maintain the current RTO and RPO because the MTD is only a guideline and not a strict requirement.
Why it's wrong here
The MTD is a critical business requirement that defines the maximum time a system can be unavailable before severe consequences occur. In a hospital emergency department, exceeding the MTD could directly impact patient care and safety. Treating it as a mere guideline ignores the BIA's purpose and leaves the organization exposed to unacceptable risk. The current RTO of 6 hours already exceeds the 2-hour MTD, so action is necessary.
Go deeper
Related to this question
Learn chapter
Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery
Key term
RTO
Recovery Time Objective is the maximum acceptable time to restore a system or data after a disaster, defining how quickly normal operations must resume.
Key term
MTD
MTD (Maximum Tolerable Downtime) is the longest period a business can function without a specific system or service before the damage becomes unacceptable.
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Written and reviewed by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
Last reviewed September 2026 · checked against the official ISC2 exam blueprint
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