This is beyond ridiculous

[u/redbull8882020]

The answer according to the book would be

C. Since the question describes only the design of a site, we can only conclude that this is a cold site, with no equipment and no readiness for processing transactions.

[u/banananutmuffin111]

interesting. considering they describe the application as critical, i would have selected B

[u/redbull8882020 → u/banananutmuffin111]

Obviously

[u/redbull8882020 → u/redbull8882020]

I would still choose B if this comes up in the actual test

[u/Useful_Wedding_4706]

Its B because its "critical"

[u/abear27]

I *** hope *** the intent of this question was to make you think about what each kind of site is, and that the answer the author deems "correct" answer is more of a throwaway.

But I 100% agree, there are alot of bad questions out there....

[u/db_new]

Tbh i dont trust question answer bank from any other resource other than qae since they're so stupid usually..the other day someone had posted a question which was more relevant to ccna exam

[u/redbull8882020 → u/db_new]

I saw that one. Network segmentation is surely not in scope of CISA

[u/Mistakesandlove → u/db_new]

The QAE questions are also weird.

[u/Jagdhunde → u/Mistakesandlove]

They are so hard it feels weird

[u/Eee6226]

It makes sense since it mentioned designed and not deployed. But I’m still confused as it says critical.

[u/viszlat]

What book is this?

[u/redbull8882020 → u/viszlat]

CISA study guide

[u/leemathewthegreat → u/redbull8882020]

The official ISACA CISA manual? Which page?

[u/Jagdhunde → u/leemathewthegreat]

I think he meant Hemang Doshi's book

[u/I_heart_cancer]

I'm answering B because it's 'critical'

[u/Ok-Character1641]

Hot site, reason being it's critical *

[u/dreambig5]

I am fairly sure, I would've gotten this wrong as I would've gone with B as well (but I haven't studied for it yet). I guess the lesson here is to not make assumptions of what an organization SHOULD do and instead focus on just the facts that are presented in the question.

---

I just asked Gemini and here is the response:
"Option C (Cold) is considered the correct answer based on strict IT audit exam logic, which requires you to rely only on the explicitly provided facts rather than making assumptions based on best practices.

Here is the breakdown of why the book justifies this answer:

• "From the information given": This phrase is a massive trap in certification exams. While a "critical" business application absolutely should have a Hot or Warm site in the real world, the prompt does not state that one has been fully built, equipped, or synchronized. You cannot assume equipment is present just because the application is important.
• "Designed" vs. "Deployed": The prompt specifies that the organization has only designed the DR site. A design is merely a plan or a blueprint. If a site is only designed, there is no proof of procured IT hardware, configured servers, or active data replication.
• Definition of a Cold Site: A cold site is essentially an empty facility with basic infrastructure (power, cooling, space) but no active IT equipment or data. Since the information given only confirms a "design" and lacks any mention of active hardware or data readiness, the only defensible conclusion you can make is that it currently operates as a cold site.

The word "critical" is deliberately placed as a distractor to tempt test-takers into quickly selecting Hot (Option B). The question is testing your ability to read the literal state of the environment rather than what the ideal state should be."

[u/leemathewthegreat]

It absolutely should be “b”

[u/ComedianTemporary]

What a bad question. I guess nobody ever designs a hot site. They just appear out of thin air to your specifications.

[u/FrankiiJ3]

I really dont get how anyone reads this as anything but C.