SSCP Security Operations and Administration Practice Question
A security administrator is reviewing the organization's backup strategy for a database server that must meet a recovery point objective (RPO) of 15 minutes. The server currently uses a full backup every Sunday and differential backups every night. The administrator finds that the current strategy cannot meet the RPO. Which backup method should the administrator implement to meet the RPO while minimizing backup storage consumption?
⚠ Common exam trap
The trap here is assuming that any frequent backup type satisfies an RPO, when only transaction log backups provide the granular, low-overhead recovery points required for a database with a 15-minute 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
✓
Transaction log backups every 15 minutes
Transaction log backups capture every committed transaction since the previous log backup, so a 15-minute schedule delivers an RPO of 15 minutes. They are also far more storage-efficient than full or differential backups because they contain only log records. This combination of frequent recovery points and low storage overhead makes them the correct choice for meeting the stated 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.
- ✗
Differential backups every 15 minutes
Why it's wrong here
Differential backups capture all changes since the last full backup, so each successive differential grows larger throughout the week. Running them every 15 minutes would still consume significant storage and would not provide the granular point-in-time recovery needed. More importantly, differential backups alone cannot restore to a specific transaction point.
- ✓
Transaction log backups every 15 minutes
Why this is correct
Transaction log backups capture all committed transactions since the last log backup, enabling point-in-time recovery with an RPO as low as the backup interval. Scheduling them every 15 minutes directly meets the 15-minute RPO. They also consume far less storage than full backups because they contain only the log records, not the entire database.
- ✗
Full backups every 15 minutes
Why it's wrong here
Full backups every 15 minutes would technically meet the RPO, but they copy the entire database each time, causing massive storage consumption and I/O load. This violates the requirement to minimize storage consumption and is operationally impractical for a production database. It is a brute-force approach that ignores the efficiency constraint.
- ✗
Snapshot backups every 15 minutes
Why it's wrong here
Snapshots can be frequent and storage-efficient, but they depend on the underlying storage array and do not capture in-flight database transactions in a consistent, recoverable state. Without application-consistent quiescing, snapshots may produce a corrupt or inconsistent database image. They are not a substitute for transaction log backups in this scenario.
Go deeper
Related to this question
About these practice questions
One of 971 original SSCP practice questions on Courseiva, each with a full explanation and wrong-answer analysis — not exam dumps or protected exam content. Learn why practice questions differ from exam dumps →
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 SSCP 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 SSCP exam.