Disaster Recovery

Lesson

A disaster recovery plan is a documented process or set of procedures to recover and protect a business's IT infrastructure during a disaster. Investment advisers need to have a disaster recovery plan in place to ensure their operations' continuity and protect their client's interests.

Practice Question #1

Which of the following is NOT a component of a disaster recovery plan?

A) Data backup

B) Recovery Time Objective

C) Business Interruption Insurance

D) Hot Site

Select an option above to see an explanation here.

A) Data backup is a crucial component of a disaster recovery plan to ensure data availability. B) Recovery Time Objective is a target for restoring business processes after a disaster. C) Business Interruption Insurance covers the loss of income after a disaster but is not a component of a disaster recovery plan. D) A hot site is a fully operational offsite data center used to continue operations in the event of a disaster.

Terms

Disaster Recovery:: Restoring and recovering IT infrastructure and data after a disaster.
Business Continuity Plan:: A plan that outlines the procedures and processes a business will follow to continue operations during and after a disaster.
Recovery Time Objective (RTO):: The targeted duration of time a business process must be restored after a disaster.
Recovery Point Objective (RPO):: The maximum acceptable amount of data loss measured before the disaster occurs.
Redundancy:: The duplication of critical components or functions to increase the reliability of a system.
Failover:: The automatic switching to a redundant or standby system in case of a failure or disaster.
Hot Site:: A fully operational offsite data center that can be used to continue operations in the event of a disaster.
Cold Site:: An offsite location with the necessary infrastructure to set up a data center but without the equipment and data in place.

Practice Question #2

What is the primary purpose of a disaster recovery plan?

A) To identify and prioritize risks

B) To restore and recover IT infrastructure and data after a disaster

C) To respond to security breaches or cyber attacks

D) To cover the loss of income after a disaster

Select an option above to see an explanation here.

A) Identifying and prioritizing risks is part of risk management, not disaster recovery. B) The primary purpose of a disaster recovery plan is to restore and recover IT infrastructure and data after a disaster. C) Responding to security breaches or cyber-attacks is the focus of an incident response plan, not a disaster recovery plan. D) Covering the loss of income after a disaster is the purpose of business interruption insurance, not a disaster recovery plan.

Historical Example

In 2012, a major hurricane hit the East Coast of the United States, causing widespread power outages and flooding. Many businesses could not operate for days or weeks due to the damage to their IT infrastructure. Those with effective disaster recovery plans could quickly restore their operations and minimize the impact on their clients.

Practice Question #3

What is the difference between a hot site and a cold site in the context of disaster recovery?

A) A hot site is fully operational, while a cold site requires setup and data transfer.

B) A hot site is for data backup, while a cold site is for IT infrastructure recovery.

C) A hot site is for short-term recovery, while a cold site is for long-term recovery.

D) A hot site is for natural disasters, while a cold site is for cyber attacks.

Select an option above to see an explanation here.

A) A hot site is a fully operational offsite data center, while a cold site has the necessary infrastructure but requires setup and data transfer. B) Both hot and cold sites can be used for data backup and IT infrastructure recovery. C) The recovery duration is not the primary difference between hot and cold sites. D) Both hot and cold sites can be used for recovery from various types of disasters, including natural disasters and cyber-attacks.

Real-World Example

A financial advisory firm experiences a fire in their office building, causing damage to their IT infrastructure and data loss. The firm has a disaster recovery plan, including off-site data backups and a hot site for IT operations. They can quickly restore their systems and continue serving clients with minimal disruption.