The most appropriate risk management action when RTO exceeds MTD is to mitigate the risk by implementing faster backup and restoration procedures. This is correct because the business impact analysis (BIA) establishes a maximum tolerable downtime (MTD) of 2 hours, while the current recovery time objective (RTO) of 8 hours creates a critical gap that leaves the organization exposed to unacceptable losses. Mitigation directly addresses the root cause—insufficient recovery speed—by reducing the RTO to align with the MTD, rather than accepting, transferring, or avoiding the process. On the CISSP exam, this scenario tests your understanding of the BIA’s role in defining recovery requirements and the practical application of risk treatment options; a common trap is to choose “accept the risk” or “transfer via insurance,” but those fail to close the gap between business need and technical capability. Remember the memory tip: “RTO must fit inside MTD—if it’s too slow, mitigate to make it go.”
CISSP Security and Risk Management Practice Question
This CISSP practice question tests your understanding of security and risk management. The scenario asks you to isolate a root cause — eliminate options that address a different problem before choosing. After answering, compare your reasoning against the explanation and wrong-answer breakdown below. Once you have made your selection, read the full explanation to reinforce the concept and understand why each distractor is designed to mislead on exam day.
During a business impact analysis (BIA), a department manager states that a critical process cannot be interrupted for more than 2 hours. However, the current backup system requires 8 hours to restore. What is the most appropriate risk management action?
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Mitigate the risk by implementing faster backup and restoration procedures.
The BIA identifies a maximum tolerable downtime (MTD) of 2 hours, but the current recovery time objective (RTO) is 8 hours, creating a gap. Mitigating the risk by implementing faster backup and restoration procedures directly reduces the RTO to meet the MTD, aligning recovery capability with business requirements. This is the most appropriate action because it addresses the root cause—insufficient recovery speed—without unnecessarily discarding or transferring the process.
Key principle: Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
✓
Mitigate the risk by implementing faster backup and restoration procedures.
Why this is correct
Improving recovery capabilities to meet the 2-hour RTO is the appropriate mitigation.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
✗
Avoid the risk by discontinuing the process.
Why it's wrong here
Avoiding the process would harm business operations.
✗
Accept the risk and document the decision.
Why it's wrong here
Accepting is inappropriate because the downtime exceeds the requirement by a large margin.
✗
Transfer the risk to a third-party service provider.
Why it's wrong here
Transfer does not fix the restoration time; the provider would also need to meet the RTO.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is that candidates may choose 'accept the risk' (Option C) thinking it is a valid risk management strategy, but the BIA has already defined an unacceptable downtime threshold, making acceptance inappropriate without a formal risk treatment plan that justifies the gap.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
The gap between MTD (2 hours) and RTO (8 hours) indicates that the current backup system likely uses sequential full backups or slow media (e.g., tape), which cannot meet the required recovery speed. Mitigation could involve implementing disk-based backups with snapshot technologies, using incremental or differential backups to reduce restore time, or deploying high-availability clustering with synchronous replication to achieve near-zero RTO. In a real-world scenario, a database with a 2-hour MTD might require log shipping or continuous data protection (CDP) to ensure point-in-time recovery within the window.
KKey Concepts to Remember
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
Find the constraint that changes the correct option.
Eliminate answers that are true in general but not in this case.
TExam Day Tips
→Watch for words such as best, first, most likely and least administrative effort.
→Review why wrong options are wrong, not only why the correct option is correct.
Key takeaway
Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Real-world example
How this comes up in practice
A security analyst at a medium-sized enterprise encounters this scenario during an investigation or architecture review. The correct answer reflects best practice for the specific threat or control described. Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option. Security exam questions test whether you can match controls to threats in context — not just recall definitions.
Related glossary terms
Concepts from this question explained
These glossary pages explain the core terms tested in this CISSP question in full detail.
Security and Risk Management — This question tests Security and Risk Management — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Mitigate the risk by implementing faster backup and restoration procedures. — The BIA identifies a maximum tolerable downtime (MTD) of 2 hours, but the current recovery time objective (RTO) is 8 hours, creating a gap. Mitigating the risk by implementing faster backup and restoration procedures directly reduces the RTO to meet the MTD, aligning recovery capability with business requirements. This is the most appropriate action because it addresses the root cause—insufficient recovery speed—without unnecessarily discarding or transferring the process.
What should I do if I get this CISSP question wrong?
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
What is the key concept behind this question?
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
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Question Discussion
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