CISSP Security Operations Practice Question
A company is evaluating disaster recovery strategies and wants to minimize both RTO and RPO. Which THREE options provide the best combination of low RTO and low RPO? (Select THREE)
⚠ Common exam trap
CISSP often tests the trade-off between cost and recovery objectives, tempting candidates to select reciprocal agreements or cold sites as 'good enough' when the question explicitly demands minimal RTO and 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
✓
Cloud DR with replication
Option B (Cloud DR with replication) is correct because continuously replicating workloads and data to a cloud region keeps a near-current copy of the environment, allowing rapid failover for a low RTO and minimal data loss for a low RPO. Option C (Synchronous replication to a secondary site) is correct because synchronous replication only acknowledges writes once they are committed at both sites, giving an RPO of essentially zero, and the mirrored secondary site can be activated quickly for a low RTO. Option D (Hot site) is correct because a hot site is a fully operational duplicate facility with current data and ready-to-run systems, enabling failover in minutes or hours (low RTO) with little to no data loss (low RPO). Option A (Reciprocal agreement) does not belong because it relies on another organization's idle capacity that may not be available or current during a disaster, yielding high RTO and RPO. Option E (Cold site) does not belong because it provides only basic space and power with no pre-installed systems or data, requiring lengthy setup and restoration, which produces the highest RTO and RPO.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Reciprocal agreement
Why it's wrong here
A reciprocal agreement involves two organizations agreeing to provide backup facilities to each other in case of a disaster. This strategy inherently leads to high Recovery Time Objectives (RTO) and Recovery Point Objectives (RPO) because it relies on the availability of the partner's resources, which may be in use, and requires significant time to configure systems and restore data. Furthermore, differing hardware, software, and network configurations between partners often complicate and delay recovery efforts.
- ✓
Cloud DR with replication
Why this is correct
Cloud Disaster Recovery (DR) with replication leverages public or private cloud infrastructure to host backup systems and data. This approach enables rapid recovery with low RTO and RPO by continuously replicating data and virtual machine images to the cloud, allowing for quick spin-up of services in a disaster. Its scalability and pay-as-you-go model also offer cost-effectiveness compared to maintaining a dedicated secondary site.
- ✓
Synchronous replication to a secondary site
Why this is correct
Synchronous replication to a secondary site ensures that data written to the primary storage is simultaneously committed to the secondary storage before the write operation is acknowledged to the application. This method guarantees a Recovery Point Objective (RPO) of zero, meaning no data loss, and facilitates very low Recovery Time Objectives (RTO) through immediate failover. However, it typically requires high-bandwidth, low-latency network connections and is often limited by geographical distance due to performance impacts.
- ✓
Hot site
Why this is correct
A hot site is a fully equipped, operational off-site data center that mirrors the primary site's critical systems, hardware, software, and data. It is maintained in a ready state, allowing for immediate failover and near-zero Recovery Time Objective (RTO) and Recovery Point Objective (RPO) in the event of a disaster. While offering the highest level of availability, hot sites are the most expensive disaster recovery option due to their constant operational readiness and duplicate infrastructure.
- ✗
Cold site
Why it's wrong here
A cold site is a basic, empty facility with essential utilities like power and cooling, but lacks necessary hardware, software, or network infrastructure. This strategy results in very high Recovery Time Objectives (RTO) and Recovery Point Objectives (RPO) because significant time is required to procure, install, configure, and restore systems and data. Cold sites are typically chosen for non-critical systems or organizations with very limited budgets, where extended downtime is acceptable.
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JA
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
This CISSP 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 CISSP exam.