ISC2 CC Business Continuity, DR & Incident Response Practice Question
Which is a key benefit of a cold site as a recovery location?
⚠ Common exam trap
ISC2 often tests the misconception that 'cold site' implies lower testing requirements, but in reality, cold sites demand more rigorous and frequent testing because the manual recovery process is error-prone and must be validated to avoid failure during an actual disaster.
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
✓
Low cost
A cold site is a backup facility that provides only the physical infrastructure (power, cooling, and space) but no pre-installed hardware or live data. Because it lacks equipment and requires manual setup before recovery can begin, it has the lowest capital and operational costs among recovery site options, making low cost its key benefit.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Real-time data synchronization
Why it's wrong here
A cold site holds no running systems or replicated data, so synchronisation cannot occur until hardware is installed and backups restored. Real-time synchronisation is genuinely the defining benefit of a hot site, where continuous replication keeps standby systems current with production.
- ✓
Low cost
Why this is correct
A cold site provides only basic space and power, with no pre-installed hardware or replicated data, so the organisation pays minimal ongoing facility costs. That low cost is the defining benefit, accepting lengthy activation and restoration times.
- ✗
Reduced need for testing
Why it's wrong here
A cold site demands extensive build, restore and failover testing precisely because nothing is pre-installed or replicated, so testing effort rises rather than falls. Reduced testing is genuinely associated with hot sites, whose mirrored infrastructure and frequent replication cycles are exercised continuously.
- ✗
Fast recovery time
Why it's wrong here
A cold site provides only space, power and connectivity, so systems must be installed and data restored before operations resume, producing the longest recovery time of any strategy. Fast recovery is genuinely the benefit of a hot site, where equipment and data are already running and mirrored.
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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.