80. Which of the following statements is not true? Having a disaster recovery plan and testing it regularly:
a. Reduces risks
b. Affects the availability of insurance
c. Lowers insurance rates
d. Affects the total cost of insurance
80. c. Both underwriters and management are concerned about risk reduction, availability of specific insurance coverage, and its total cost. A good disaster recovery plan addresses these concerns. However, a good plan is not a guarantee for lower insurance rates in all circumstances. Insurance rates are determined based on averages obtained from loss experience, geography, management judgment, the health of the economy, and a host of other factors. Total cost of insurance depends on the specific type of coverage obtained. It could be difficult or expensive to obtain insurance in the absence of a disaster recovery plan. Insurance provides a certain level of comfort in reducing risks but it does not provide the means to ensure continuity of business operations.
81. When an organization is interrupted by a catastrophe, which of the following cost categories requires management’s greatest attention?
a. Direct costs
b. Opportunity costs
c. Hidden costs
d. Variable costs
81. c. Hidden costs are not insurable expenses and include (i) unemployment compensation premiums resulting from layoffs in the work force, (ii) increases in advertising expenditures necessary to rebuild the volume of business, (iii) cost of training new and old employees, and (iv) increased cost of production due to decline in overall operational efficiency. Generally, traditional accounting systems are not set up to accumulate and report the hidden costs. Opportunity costs are not insurable expenses. They are costs of foregone choices, and accounting systems do not capture these types of costs. Both direct and variable costs are insurable expenses and are captured by accounting systems.
82. Which of the following disaster-recovery alternative facilities eliminates the possibility of competition for time and space with other businesses?
a. Hot sites
b. Cold sites
c. Mirrored sites
d. Warm sites
82. c. A dedicated second site eliminates the threat of competition for time and space with other businesses. These benefits coupled with the ever-growing demands of today’s data and telecommunications networks have paved the way for a new breed of mirrored sites (intelligent sites) that can serve as both primary and contingency site locations. These mirrored sites employ triple disaster avoidance systems covering power, telecommunications, life support (water and sanitation), and 24-hour security systems. Mirrored sites are fully redundant facilities with automated real-time information mirroring. A mirrored site (redundant site) is equipped and configured exactly like the primary site in all technical respects. Some organizations plan on having partial redundancy for a disaster recovery purpose and partial processing for normal operations. The stocking of spare personal computers and their parts or LAN servers also provide some redundancy. Hot, cold, and warm sites are operated and managed by commercial organizations, whereas the mirrored site is operated by the user organization.
83. The greatest cost in data management comes from which of the following?
a. Backing up files
b. Restoring files
c. Archiving files
d. Journaling files
83. b. Manual tape processing has the tendency to cause problems at restore time. Multiple copies of files exist on different tapes. Finding the right tape to restore can become a nightmare, unless the software product has automated indexing and labeling features. Restoring files is costly due to the considerable human intervention required, causing delays. Until the software is available to automate the file restoration process, costs continue to be higher than the other choices. Backing up refers to a duplicate copy of a data set that is held in storage in case the original data are lost or damaged. Archiving refers to the process of moving infrequently accessed data to less accessible and lower cost storage media. Journaling applications post a copy of each transaction to both the local and remote storage sites when applicable.
84. All the following need to be established prior to a crisis situation except:
a. Public relationships
b. Credibility
c. Reputation
d. Goodwill
84. a. The other three choices (i.e., credibility, reputation, and goodwill) need to exist in advance of a crisis situation. These qualities cannot be generated quickly during a crisis. They take a long time to develop and maintain, way before a disaster occurs. On the other hand, public (media) relationships require a proactive approach during a disaster. This includes distributing an information kit to the media at a moment’s notice. The background information about the company in the kit must be regularly reviewed and updated. When disaster strikes, it is important to get the company information out early. By presenting relevant information to the media, more time is available to manage the actual day-to-day aspects of crisis communications during the disaster.
85. Which of the following disaster recovery plan testing options should not be scheduled at critical points in the normal processing cycle?
a. Checklist testing
b. Parallel testing
c. Full-interruption testing
d. Structured walk-through testing
85. c. Full-interruption testing, as the name implies, disrupts normal operations and should be approached with caution.
86. The first step in successfully protecting and backing up information in distributed computing environments is to determine data:
a. Availability requirements
b. Accessibility requirements
c. Inventory requirements
d. Retention requirements
86. c. The first step toward protecting data is a comprehensive inventory of all servers, workstations, applications, and user data throughout the organization. When a comprehensive study of this type is completed, various backup, access, storage, availability, and retention strategies can be evaluated to determine which strategy best fits the needs of an organization.
87. Which of the following natural disasters come with an advanced warning sign?
a. Earthquakes and tornadoes
b. Tornadoes and hurricanes
c. Hurricanes and floods
d. Floods only
87. c. The main hazards caused by hurricanes most often involve the loss of power, flooding, and the inability to access facilities. Businesses may also be impacted by structural damage as well. Hurricanes are the only events that give advanced warnings before the disaster strikes. Excessive rains lead to floods. Earthquakes do not give advanced warnings. Tornado warnings exist but provide little advance warning, and they are often inaccurate.