What FIPS 199 level corresponds to a low availability impact level with a cold site backup strategy?

The correct answer is based on the FIPS 199 standard, which provides guidelines for categorizing information and information systems based on the potential impact of a loss of confidentiality, integrity, or availability.

In the context of availability, FIPS 199 defines three impact levels: low, moderate, and high. When an organization employs a cold site backup strategy, it means that they have a disaster recovery setup that is not immediately operational; it requires time to become functional once an outage occurs. This strategy suggests that while the data may be recoverable, the time it takes to restore operations can lead to some degree of service interruption.

When categorizing the availability impact level, a cold site backup aligns with a low impact designation. This is because the organization is aware that there is a potential for loss of service, but it can tolerate the downtime without significantly jeopardizing mission success or business operations. Therefore, with a cold site approach, the availability risk is considered manageable, which corresponds directly to a low impact level in terms of FIPS 199 classification.

The emphasis on the cold site strategy being linked to low availability indicates that while there is a potential risk, the organization has assessed their capacity to handle such disruptions effectively, thus allowing them to classify their systems