What strategy is being employed when a systems administrator signs off on daily backups to mitigate risk?

The strategy being employed when a systems administrator signs off on daily backups to mitigate risk is mitigation. This approach involves taking proactive steps to reduce the potential impact of risks. By regularly backing up data, the administrator ensures that in the event of data loss—due to hardware failure, cyberattacks, or other unforeseen circumstances—the organization can restore operations with minimal disruption and data loss.

Mitigation focuses on implementing measures that lessen the severity or likelihood of potential threats. Signing off on daily backups confirms that the organization acknowledges the risks associated with data loss and actively works to lessen these risks through regular backup practices. This helps in maintaining business continuity and operational resilience.

In contrast, avoidance would involve eliminating the risk entirely, while transfer would entail shifting the risk to another party, such as through insurance. Acceptance refers to acknowledging the risk without taking action to mitigate it, which would be unsuitable in the context of data backups.