Disaster Recovery Interview Questions
These Disaster Recovery interview questions cover the general aspects and principles of Disaster Recovery. They include questions on Disaster Recovery audits, hot sites, business impact analysis, backups and data security.
They are suitable for the following job roles:
- Disaster Recovery Manager
- Infrastructure Design Consultant
- Release Manager
- IT Infrastructure Project Manager
- Asset Management
- Technical Service Continuity Analyst
- Business Continuity
- IT Manager
- IT Directory
- Network Engineer
- Support Technician
Interview Questions
1. A Hot Site is a term used in disaster recovery to describe a location that an organisation can move to after a disaster occurs. However, what does a Hot Site actually equate to?
A location that can resume some essential operations but obviously not all
None of these
A location that does not have the capacity to resume all operations but has the potential to give enough time
A location fully equipped to resume operations
Show AnswerAnswer:
A location fully equipped to resume operations
Comments:
A hot/cold site is a location that an organization can move to after a disaster if the current facility is unusable. The difference between the two is that a hot site is fully equipped to resume operations while a cold site does not have that capability. There is also what is referred to as a warm site which has the capability to resume some, but not all operations.
2. The auditor is always required to review and determine the adequacy of the company’s insurance coverage. Which two insurance types are the most common considerations in a disaster recovery audit?
Property and Life
Property and Casualty
None of these
Property and Building
Show AnswerAnswer:
Property and Casualty
Comments:
Casualty insurance is a problematically defined term loosely used to describe an area of insurance not particularly or directly concerned with life insurance, health insurance, or property insurance. It is sometimes equated to liability insurance,[2] and is mainly used to describe the liability coverage of an individual or organization's for negligent acts or omissions
3. Which of the following processes is an auditor likely to perform during a disaster recovery audit?
Testing of procedures
All of these
Examination of training records and certifications
Inquiry of all employees
Show AnswerAnswer:
All of these
4. The business impact analysis is usually performed after which other stage in creating the Business Continuity Plan?
Sell the concept of the BCP
None. Its never performed during the creation of the BCP
Lower level departments understand the BCP
Identify the scope of the BCP
Show AnswerAnswer:
Identify the scope of the BCP
Comments:
Business impact analysis is study and assessment of financial losses to institution resulting from destructive event as unavailability of important business services. It is usually performed straight after the scope of the BCP but before the plan is sold to the senior management.
5. The BCP usually contains several types of measures to reduce or eliminate security threats. Which types of measures are they?
Preventive, Detective and Corrective measures
Preventive and Corrective measures
Corrective measures
Preventive and Detective measures
Show AnswerAnswer:
Preventive, Detective and Corrective measures
6. What is the missing terminology from the sentence below:
The ___ is the point in time to which you must recover data as defined by your organization. This is generally a definition of what an organization determines is an "acceptable loss" in a disaster situation.
RTO
None of these
CDP
RPO
Show AnswerAnswer:
RPO
Comments:
Recovery Point Objective (RPO) describes the acceptable amount of data loss measured in time
7. Complete the missing terminology below:
The ___ is the duration of time and a service level within which a business process must be restored after a disaster (or disruption) in order to avoid unacceptable consequences associated with a break in business continuity
RPO
None of these
CDP
RTO
Show AnswerAnswer:
RTO
Comments:
The Recovery Time Objective (RTO) is the duration of time and a service level within which a business process must be restored after a disaster (or disruption) in order to avoid unacceptable consequences associated with a break in business continuity
8. The following threats are all commonly associated with a business impact analysis. However, which one is the odd one out?
Earthquake
Disease
Cyber Attack
Fire
Show AnswerAnswer:
Disease
Comments:
The impact of diseases can be regarded as purely human, and may be alleviated with technical and business solutions. However, if the humans behind
9. Crisis management is the process by which an organization deals with any major unpredictable event that threatens to harm the organization, its stakeholders, or the general public. Which of these elements is common to most definitions of crisis?
All of these
A threat to the organization
The element of surprise
A short decision time
Show AnswerAnswer:
All of these
10. Online backup remote, online, or managed backup service is a service that provides users with an online system for backing up and storing computer files. Managed backup providers are companies that provide this type of service. Which of the following is NOT a cost factor of online backups?
The types of data being backed up
The total amount of data being backed up
The archive period
The maximum number of versions of each file to keep
Show AnswerAnswer:
The types of data being backed up
Comments:
The type of data being backed up is not usually a cost factor.
11. Online backup systems are typically built around a client software program that runs on a schedule, typically once a day. Which of the following is an advantage of using an online backup service for keeping copies of essential business data?
All of these
Remote backup does not require use intervention
Several versions can be kept for each file
Data is sent over a secure encrypted network channel
Show AnswerAnswer:
All of these
12. Backing up data is a vital part of any disaster recovery plan. Which of the following is the best choice for storing the back media?
Store the data on-site but in a secure location
Store the data off-site
None of these
Store the data in any location, the tapes are encrypted
Show AnswerAnswer:
Store the data off-site
Comments:
Its always best to store the media off-site. Even if the backups are encrypted or stored in a secure on-site location, this doesn’t prevent them being lost in the event of a catastrophic natural disaster such as earthquake or flood.
13. Hard copies of records are usually kept at offices, even in todays times. Which of the following measures is the best choice for ensuring the protection of this information in the event of disaster?
Central storage of all records
Photocopy records and store off-site
Store records in fire-resistant cabinets on-site
Take photocopies of records and store in management offices
Show AnswerAnswer:
Photocopy records and store off-site
Comments:
Storing duplicate copies of records off-site is always the best choice. Although using fire safe storage on-site is a fair choice, it does not protect against earthquake, explosion or other serious disaster.
14. The emergency response team (ERT) is a group of key personnel from various departments defined during the disaster recovery planning stage. However, its quite possible that disaster can occur outside of normal working hours when key personnel are not present. Which of the following is good measure to prepare for out of hours disaster?
Assign out of hours shifts for members of the ERT team
Ensure all ERT staff have VPN access to the staff network
Hope that an out of hours disaster never occurs
Create emergency contact cards for each of the ERT team
Show AnswerAnswer:
Create emergency contact cards for each of the ERT team
Comments:
Creating contact cards for the ERT is a helpful step to ensuring people have all the vital contacts in the case of disaster.
15. Its always hard to tell how your Disaster Recovery Plan will hold up in the event of disaster. This is especially true for newly created plans that have just been drawn up. Which of the following is a good step after creating your plan?
Set off a small fire in the office
Load Testing
Benchmarking
Simulation Testing
Show AnswerAnswer:
Simulation Testing
Comments:
Simulation testing is a good step to help the Emergency Response Team imagine how the actual response will take place during disaster.