Question 39
Domain 4 — Technology, Security, and Resilience ControlsWhat is the Recovery Point Objective (RPO) in disaster recovery?
Correct answer: B
Explanation
Recovery Point Objective (RPO) is the point in time to which data must be restored after a disruption, so it measures how much recent data loss is acceptable. In disaster recovery, it is defined as the "maximum acceptable amount of data loss measured in time," such as 15 minutes or 1 hour of data.
Why each option is right or wrong
A. The time to recover systems
B. The maximum acceptable amount of data loss measured in time
In disaster recovery terminology, RPO is the time-based limit for how far back restored data may roll after an outage, so the metric is expressed in minutes or hours of potential loss rather than in records or systems. It is paired with RTO, but unlike RTO’s focus on how quickly service must be back, RPO sets the maximum tolerable data loss window—for example, an RPO of 15 minutes means backups or replication must prevent losing more than the last 15 minutes of transactions.
C. The budget for recovery activities
D. The number of recovery sites