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ISC2 CC Practice Question: A small business has a single server that hosts…
A small business has a single server that hosts critical applications. The server's hard drive fails, and the most recent backup is 3 days old. The backup is stored on an external drive that is kept in the same room as the server. The server is also the domain controller and file server. After replacing the drive and restoring from backup, the IT administrator discovers that some user files are missing because they were created after the backup. The administrator needs to minimize data loss in the future. Which of the following should be implemented?
⚠ Common exam trap
ISC2 often tests the distinction between high availability (RAID, redundancy) and backup/disaster recovery, leading candidates to mistakenly choose RAID 1 as a solution for data loss when it only protects against hardware failure, not data corruption or user error.
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
✓
Use a cloud-based backup solution.
A cloud-based backup solution automatically stores backups offsite, ensuring that even if the local site is compromised or the backup drive fails, recent data is recoverable. This minimizes data loss by enabling more frequent backups (e.g., hourly or continuous) without relying on manual intervention or physical media rotation, directly addressing the 3-day gap in the scenario.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✓
Use a cloud-based backup solution.
Why this is correct
Provides automated offsite backups with flexible scheduling, reducing data loss risk.
- ✗
Perform daily backups and store them offsite.
Why it's wrong here
Daily backups stored offsite reduce the window of potential data loss to 24 hours, but the scenario’s core problem is that user files created after the backup were lost because the backup was three days old. Offsite storage does not shorten the backup interval; it only protects against physical threats like theft or fire. This option is tempting because offsite backups are a standard defence against site-level disasters, and in a scenario where the primary risk was a building fire or flood, offsite storage would be the correct choice.
- ✗
Implement RAID 1 for disk redundancy.
Why it's wrong here
Protects against disk failure but not against accidental deletion or corruption.
- ✗
Enable versioning on the file server.
Why it's wrong here
Helps recover previous versions but does not protect against hardware failure of the server itself.
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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.