Comprehensive and Detailed 250–300 Words Explanation From Exact Extract from Chief Information Security Officer (CCISO) Documents:
The EC-Council CCISO Body of Knowledge identifies Recovery Point Objective (RPO) as a key metric used specifically for data backup and restoration. RPO defines the maximum acceptable amount of data loss, measured in time, that an organization can tolerate following a disruption or system failure.
CCISO documentation explains that RPO answers the question: “How much data can we afford to lose?” This makes it directly tied to backup frequency, replication strategies, and data restoration planning. For example, an RPO of four hours means backups must occur at least every four hours to meet business requirements.
Other options are related but not specific to backup metrics. Maximum Tolerable Downtime (MTD) measures total allowable downtime for a business process, not data loss. Mean Time to Operations (MTO) focuses on recovery duration. “Recovery Base Objective” is not a recognized CCISO or industry-standard metric.
CCISO materials emphasize that defining RPO is critical before selecting backup technologies, cloud replication methods, or disaster recovery architectures. Without a clearly defined RPO, organizations risk either over-investing in unnecessary backup solutions or under-protecting critical data.
Therefore, in alignment with CCISO business continuity and disaster recovery guidance, Recovery Point Objective (RPO) is the correct answer.
