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CISSP Practice Question: Is implementing a new backup strategy for its…
An organization is implementing a new backup strategy for its critical servers. The backup must support rapid restoration of individual files and allow for a recovery point objective (RPO) of no more than 15 minutes. Which backup method should be used for daily operations?
⚠ Common exam trap
Candidates often confuse the backup method's recovery time objective (RTO) with the recovery point objective (RPO), or assume that frequent incremental backups (e.g., every 4 hours) can achieve a 15-minute RPO, but the RPO is determined by the backup interval, not the method's efficiency.
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
✓
Continuous data protection (CDP)
Continuous data protection (CDP) is the only backup method that can guarantee a recovery point objective (RPO) of 15 minutes or less because it captures every write to disk in real time or near-real time, enabling restoration to any point within the protection window. Full, differential, and incremental backups all rely on periodic snapshots, which inherently introduce gaps that exceed a 15-minute RPO unless the interval is shorter than 15 minutes, which is impractical for daily operations.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Full backup every 24 hours
Why it's wrong here
A full backup performed only once every 24 hours establishes a Recovery Point Objective (RPO) of up to 24 hours. This means that in the event of a system failure, all data changes made since the last daily full backup would be irretrievably lost. Such a lengthy RPO is entirely unacceptable for environments requiring minimal data loss, as it significantly exceeds stringent requirements like a 15-minute RPO.
- ✓
Continuous data protection (CDP)
Why this is correct
Continuous Data Protection (CDP) is the optimal solution because it captures every write operation and data change in real-time, effectively creating a continuous journal of all modifications. This granular, real-time capture allows for restoration to virtually any point in time, often within seconds of a data loss event. Consequently, CDP achieves a near-zero RPO, easily satisfying even the most stringent data loss requirements, such as a 15-minute RPO.
- ✗
Differential backup every 6 hours
Why it's wrong here
Implementing differential backups every six hours means that all data changes accumulated since the last *full* backup are captured only at these six-hour intervals. Therefore, the maximum potential data loss, or RPO, could be up to six hours, representing all modifications made between the last differential backup and the point of failure. This frequency is insufficient for an organization aiming for an RPO of 15 minutes or less, leaving a substantial window for data loss.
- ✗
Incremental backup every 4 hours
Why it's wrong here
An incremental backup strategy performed every four hours captures only the data that has changed since the *last backup of any type* (either full or the previous incremental). In a disaster scenario, this means up to four hours of data could be lost between the last successful incremental backup and the moment of system failure. An RPO of up to four hours is far too long and fails to meet the requirement for a recovery point objective of 15 minutes or less.
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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.