Data and system backups are a critical part of business continuity and disaster recovery (BC/DR) strategies, ensuring that organizations can restore data and systems to a prior state in the event of system failure, cyberattacks, or disasters.
* Primary Purpose of Backup Systems:
* The core objective of data and systems backup is to restore data and systems to a previous point in time in case of an unexpected incident.
* According to IIA GTAG on Business Continuity Management, backups enable organizations to recover lost, corrupted, or compromised data from an earlier state.
* Why Not Other Options?
* A. To restore all data and systems immediately after the occurrence of an incident:
* This is a misconception because restoration times depend on the Recovery Time Objective (RTO) and the complexity of the incident.
* B. To set the maximum allowable downtime to restore systems and data after the occurrence of an incident:
* This describes RTO, which is part of business continuity planning but not the primary purpose of backups.
* C. To set the point in time to which systems and data must be recovered after the occurrence of an incident:
* This describes the Recovery Point Objective (RPO), which determines the acceptable amount of data loss but does not define the main goal of backups.
* IIA GTAG - Business Continuity Management
* IIA Practice Guide: Auditing Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery
* IIA Standard 2120 - Risk Management and IT Controls
Step-by-Step Justification:IIA References:Thus, the correct and verified answer is D. To restore data and systems to a previous point in time after the occurrence of an incident