Skip to content

ACCA Strategic Professional · Strategic Business Leader · IT systems security and control

Altamira Bank's board states that, after a system failure, payment processing must be restored within 2 hours, and that no more than 15 minutes of transactions may be lost. Which pair of terms correctly describes these two requirements?

The 2 hours is the recovery time objective, the allowed downtime, and the 15 minutes is the recovery point objective, the maximum acceptable data loss expressed in time. The terms are not interchangeable, so reversing them is wrong.

  1. A2 hours is the recovery point objective; 15 minutes is the recovery time objective
  2. B2 hours is the recovery time objective; 15 minutes is the recovery point objectiveCorrect
  3. CBoth are recovery time objectives set for different systems
  4. D2 hours is the maximum tolerable data loss; 15 minutes is the recovery time objective

Explanation

The recovery time objective (RTO) is how long the service may be down, here 2 hours. The recovery point objective (RPO) is the maximum acceptable data loss measured in time, here 15 minutes. The first option reverses the terms.

Did you get it right without looking?

One question tells you little. A timed set on IT systems security and control shows your real accuracy, how long you take and where you lose marks.

Practise IT systems security and controlFree diagnostic mock

More IT systems security and control questions