Free Cloud Security Alliance CCSK Practice Exam with Questions & Answers | Set: 2

The Continuous Delivery and Deployment phase emphasizes deploying applications securely, ensuring infrastructure security is prioritized during deployment. Reference: [CCSK v5 Curriculum, Domain 10 - Secure Development Lifecycle]

In a cloud environment, orchestration automates the provisioning and management of various cloud resources, including virtual machines (VMs), networking, storage, and other infrastructure components. Cloud orchestration involves the use of software to coordinate and automate tasks that would otherwise require manual intervention, improving efficiency, scalability, and consistency across the environment.

Monitoring application performance is typically handled by monitoring tools, not orchestration. Manual configuration of security policies is something that can be automated through policy management but is not the focus of orchestration. Installation of operating systems is part of provisioning resources, but orchestration primarily focuses on automating the overall management of infrastructure and services, not just the installation of operating systems.

Object storage is highly scalable and suitable for cloud-native applications that require durability and efficient storage of unstructured data. Reference: [CCSK Study Guide, Domain 9 - Data Storage Types]

The Preparation phase focuses on setting up an incident response team and developing plans to handle incidents efficiently when they occur. Reference: [Security Guidance v5, Domain 11 - Incident Response]

Many cloud providers offer default encryption for data at rest, which is typically enabled automatically for data stored within the cloud. In these cases, the encryption is often done using the cloud provider's keys as part of the provider’s security infrastructure, and it is usually provided at no additional cost to the customer. This ensures that data is protected while at rest, reducing the risk of unauthorized access.

The correct answer isB. Customers retain control over their encryption keys.

Usingcustomer-managed encryption keys (CMEK)with a cloudKey Management Service (KMS)allows the customer toretain full control over the encryption keysused to encrypt their data. This is crucial in maintaining data sovereignty, privacy, and compliance with regulatory requirements.

Key Benefits of Customer-Managed Encryption Keys:

Key Ownership and Control:Unlike cloud provider-managed keys, CMEK ensures that the customer has full authority over the key's lifecycle, including creation, rotation, and deletion.

Enhanced Security:Customers can enforce strict access controls and audit who accesses the keys.

Compliance:Many regulations (like GDPR or HIPAA) mandate that data owners maintain control over encryption keys.

Data Privacy:Even though the data is stored on the cloud, the provider cannot access unencrypted data without the customer's permission.

Flexibility:Customers can choose when to revoke or rotate keys, which directly impacts data availability and access.

Why Other Options Are Incorrect:

A. Bypass the need for encryption:CMEK does not eliminate the need for encryption; it strengthens it by giving customers direct control.

C. Share encryption keys more easily:Sharing encryption keys can increase security risks, and CMEK is designed to restrict, not ease, key sharing.

D. Reduces computational load on the cloud service provider:CMEK does not impact the computational load. It focuses on key management and control rather than reducing processing overhead.

Real-World Example:

InAWS KMS, using CMEK allows customers to bring their own keys (BYOK) and manage them directly through AWS Key Management Service. Similar practices exist inGoogle Cloud KMSandAzure Key Vault, where customers can generate and control their own encryption keys.

Practical Use Case:

A healthcare provider using a cloud service to store patient records may use CMEK to ensure that sensitive data is encrypted under keys they control, ensuring compliance with regulations likeHIPAA.