What is the role of backup and disaster recovery planning in cyber resilience?

• A. Defines incident response playbooks and communication plans.
• B. Defines RPO/RTO, backup cycles, and recovery procedures.
• C. Ensures data recoverability and business continuity after incidents; defines RPO/RTO, backup cycles, and recovery procedures.
• D. Specifies encryption standards for data at rest.

Answer: (C)

Backup and disaster recovery planning in cyber resilience centers on making sure data can be restored and critical operations can continue after a cyber incident. The best answer ties these goals together with the specific targets and processes that make recovery concrete.

RPO and RTO define what level of data loss and downtime is tolerable. The Recovery Point Objective (RPO) sets how much data you’re willing to lose, based on the last good backup, while the Recovery Time Objective (RTO) specifies how quickly operations must be restored after an incident. Backup cycles describe how often data is backed up, ensuring you meet the RPO. Recovery procedures lay out the exact steps to restore systems and data, guiding teams through the recovery process.

Putting these elements together—data recoverability, business continuity after incidents, and the concrete targets and steps (RPO, RTO, backup cycles, recovery procedures)—captures the full role of backup and disaster recovery planning in cyber resilience.

Other options touch on important security activities but aren’t the core role of backup/DR planning. Incident response playbooks focus on detecting and responding to incidents, not restoring data and keeping operations running. Encryption standards protect data, but they address protection, not the recovery and continuation capabilities emphasized here. One choice mentions RPO/RTO and procedures but omits the continuity aspect, making it incomplete compared with the comprehensive scope described.