SSCP Security Operations and Administration Practice Question
An organization's backup policy states: 'Maintain three copies of data on two different media types, with one copy stored offsite.' This is known as:
⚠ Common exam trap
Many candidates confuse the 3-2-1 rule with backup rotation schemes like GFS or incremental strategies, because all involve 'backup' and 'copies,' but only the 3-2-1 rule explicitly defines the count, media diversity, and offsite requirement.
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
✓
3-2-1 rule
The 3-2-1 rule is a foundational data backup strategy that mandates maintaining three total copies of data, stored on two different types of media (e.g., disk and tape), with one copy located offsite to protect against site-level disasters. This directly matches the policy described, making option C correct.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Incremental backup strategy
Why it's wrong here
Incremental is a backup type, not the overall strategy.
- ✗
Grandfather-father-son rotation
Why it's wrong here
This is a backup rotation scheme, not the 3-2-1 rule.
- ✓
3-2-1 rule
Why this is correct
Correct. This matches the description.
- ✗
Disaster recovery plan
Why it's wrong here
Disaster recovery is broader than backup strategy.
Go deeper
Related to this question
About these practice questions
Courseiva writes every SSCP question from scratch — 920 in total, each with an explanation and a wrong-answer breakdown. None are copied from real exams or dumps. Learn why practice questions differ from exam dumps →
JA
Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
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.