Free Cloud Security Alliance CCSK Practice Exam with Questions & Answers | Set: 5

Correct Option: B. Compute, network, and storage resource pools

In the Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) model, the term “infrastructure” refers to the core physical and virtualized building blocks that form the basis of a cloud environment. These components are abstracted and pooled to offer on-demand provisioning to cloud consumers.

From the CSA Security Guidance v4.0 – Domain 1: Cloud Computing Concepts and Architectures:

“Infrastructure: The core components of a computing system: compute, network, and storage. The foundation that everything else is built on. The moving parts.”

— Section 1.1.4 Logical Model, CSA Security Guidance v4.0

Furthermore:

“IaaS consists of a facility, hardware, an abstraction layer, an orchestration (core connectivity and delivery) layer to tie together the abstracted resources, and APIs to remotely manage the resources and deliver them to consumers.”

— Section 1.1.3.1 Infrastructure as a Service, CSA Security Guidance v4.0

These are commonly referred to as resource pools, and form the foundation of what IaaS delivers: virtual machines (compute), virtual networks (networking), and object/block storage systems (storage).

Why the Other Options Are Incorrect:

A. Network configuration tools, storage encryption, and virtualization platforms➤ These are supporting technologies and security tools, not the actual infrastructure components that make up IaaS.

C. User authentication systems, application deployment services, and database management➤ These fall under PaaS (Platform as a Service) and SaaS. IaaS does not manage applications or authentication; it provides the foundation upon which these services run.

D. Load balancers, firewalls, and backup solutions➤ These are add-on services or features, not the core infrastructure components of IaaS. While often used alongside IaaS, they are not the essential building blocks of infrastructure.

Main Topic: Cloud Computing Concepts and Architectures

Source: CSA Security Guidance v4.0, Domain 1, Sections 1.1.3.1 & 1.1.4

AI workloads often require isolation and strict access controls to prevent unauthorized access and safeguard sensitive data involved in machine learning processes. Reference: [CCSK Study Guide, Domain 8 - AI Workload Security]

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]

To reduce vulnerabilities in virtual machines (VMs) in a cloud environment, it is critical to use secure base images that are free from known vulnerabilities,ensure regular patching to fix any discovered security issues, and implement configuration management to ensure that VMs are properly configured according to security best practices. This combination of practices ensures that VMs are both secure from the start and remain secure over time as new vulnerabilities are discovered.

Disabling unnecessary VM services and using containers is a good security practice but does not directly address vulnerabilities in VMs specifically. Encryption and SBOM is important for securing data and understanding dependencies but does not specifically focus on reducing vulnerabilities in VMs. Network isolation and monitoring are key network security practices but do not directly address the security of the VMs themselves.

Enforcing the principle of least privilege is the practice of granting users and systems the minimum level of access necessary to perform their tasks. By limiting root or core access and restricting the creation of deployments to onlythose who absolutely need it, the risk of unauthorized access, misuse, or damage is minimized. This helps ensure that critical systems and sensitive data are protected by reducing the number of people or services with high-level access.

Trust and verify on demand is not a standard security practice and could create security gaps. Disabling multi-factor authentication is a poor security practice, as multi-factor authentication (MFA) enhances security by adding an additional layer of verification. Deploying applications with full access) contradicts the principle of least privilege and could expose the system to unnecessary risks.

Real-time visibility allows for monitoring container behavior during runtime, helping to identify and respond to security incidents as they occur. Reference: [Security Guidance v5, Domain 8 - Cloud Workload Security]

An Identity Provider (IdP) is responsible for authentication and authorization, particularly by managing user identities and their roles across various systems and services. In a cloud environment, the IdP facilitates the management of user, group, and role mappings that determine which users have access to which resources, including deployments across different cloud providers. The IdP acts as the central authority for managing identities and ensuring that users are granted appropriate access based on their roles and credentials.