CISSP Security and Risk Management Practice Question
A company's disaster recovery plan includes an agreement with another company to provide backup computing facilities in case of a disaster. The agreement allows the second company to use the facilities for its own operations if needed. This arrangement is best described as:
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
✓
Reciprocal agreement
A reciprocal agreement is an arrangement between two organizations to provide backup facilities to each other, but it may be unreliable if both need the resources simultaneously.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
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Hot site
Why it's wrong here
A hot site is a fully equipped, pre-configured disaster recovery facility that is ready for immediate occupation and operation. While it offers the fastest recovery time objectives (RTOs), it represents a dedicated, often costly, infrastructure investment or service contract for a single organization's use, rather than a mutual agreement between two distinct entities to share resources.
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Warm site
Why it's wrong here
A warm site is a disaster recovery facility that contains essential hardware and network connectivity but lacks the full complement of applications, data, and personnel required for immediate operational takeover. It requires additional time for setup and data restoration, making it a recovery strategy focused on a dedicated facility rather than a collaborative, mutual agreement between organizations.
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Cold site
Why it's wrong here
A cold site is the most basic and least expensive type of disaster recovery facility, providing only fundamental infrastructure like space, power, and environmental controls, but no equipment or data. It demands significant time and resources to procure and install necessary hardware, software, and data, making it a facility-based recovery option, not an inter-organizational agreement.
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Reciprocal agreement
Why this is correct
A reciprocal agreement is a mutual arrangement between two organizations, often competitors or peers, to provide each other with backup facilities, equipment, or resources in the event of a disaster. This type of agreement directly addresses the concept of 'an agreement with' another entity to ensure business continuity, leveraging shared risk and resources rather than dedicated, pre-built recovery sites.
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JA
Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
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.