Free Cloud Security Alliance CCSK Practice Exam with Questions & Answers | Set: 6

An SDP creates a "dark" network, visible only to authorized users, enhancing security by hiding infrastructure from potential attackers. Reference: [Security Guidance v5, Domain 7 - Infrastructure & Networking]

The most effective way to identify security vulnerabilities in an application is to conduct automated and manual security testing throughout the development lifecycle. This approach ensures that security is continuously evaluated at every stage of development, rather than waiting until the end. Automated tools can help identify common vulnerabilities quickly, while manual testing allows for more in-depth analysis, including testing for complex, contextual security issues. This proactive and ongoing approach reduces the risk of vulnerabilities being overlooked and helps ensure that security is integrated into the application from the start.

Performing code reviews just prior to release is valuable, but it’s not comprehensive enough. Security testing should be done early and continuously, not just before release. Relying solely on secure coding practices is important but not sufficient. Even with secure coding practices, testing is essential to identify vulnerabilities. Waiting for a single penetration test after development is not effective because waiting until the end can allow many vulnerabilities to go unnoticed during development, leaving the application exposed.

CI/CD pipelines integrate security into the DevOps process, ensuring thatsecurity is automated at every stage of the software development lifecycle (SDLC).

Why CI/CD Pipelines Enhance Cloud Security?

Automates Security Scans & Compliance Checks

CI/CD pipelines integrate Static Application Security Testing (SAST) & Dynamic Application Security Testing (DAST).

Infrastructure as Code (IaC) security scans prevent misconfigurations in cloud deployments.

Reduces Human Errors in Security Configurations

Automates security best practices (e.g., enforcing HTTPS, setting least privilege IAM roles).

Reduces risk of manual security misconfigurations.

Speeds Up Secure Deployments

Automatically tests for vulnerabilities before production releases.

Ensures that security patches are rapidly deployedwithout breaking functionality.

Shifts Security Left in DevSecOps

CI/CD enables early vulnerability detectionin thedevelopment phase, reducing costs and risks.

Cloud-native CI/CD tools like AWS CodePipeline, GitHub Actions, and Jenkins integrate security automation.

This aligns with:

CCSK v5 - Security Guidance v4.0, Domain 10 (Application Security)

DevSecOps and Cloud Security Best Practices (Cloud Security Alliance - DevSecOps Working Group)​.

The primary purpose of Identity and Access Management (IAM) systems in a cloud environment is to govern and control which identities (users, groups, or services) have access to which resources within the cloud. IAM systems ensure that only authorized users and services can access specific cloud resources, and they help enforce security policies such as least privilege access, role-based access control (RBAC), and multi-factor authentication (MFA).

Classification and cataloging help assign security controls andmanage data based on its sensitivity and criticality. Reference: [CCSK v5 Curriculum, Domain 9 - Data Security]

The correct answer isD. Virtual Machines (VMs). In the context of cloud computing,Virtual Machines (VMs)are software-based emulations of physical computers. They run an operating system (OS) and applications just like a physical machine would. VMs are often hosted on physical servers using hypervisors, which allow multiple VMs to run on a single physical machine, thereby sharing resources like CPU, memory, and storage.

Why Virtual Machines (VMs) are Suitable for Data Processing:

Full OS Environment:VMs provide a complete operating system environment, making them suitable for running complex data processing tasks that require specific OS configurations.

Isolation:Each VM operates independently, providing isolation between different workloads, which is essential when processing sensitive or diverse data sets.

Scalability:Cloud providers offer VM scaling options to meet the demands of data processing workloads.

Compatibility:VMs can run legacy applications that may not be compatible with newer cloud-native technologies.

Why Other Options Are Incorrect:

A. Platform as a Service (PaaS):PaaS provides a platform for developing and deploying applications without managing underlying infrastructure. It is not directly related to VM-based processing.

B. Serverless Functions (FaaS):Serverless computing abstracts the infrastructure and is used for running discrete functions rather than emulating entire machines.

C. Containers:Containers package applications and dependencies but share the host OS kernel. They are lightweight compared to VMs and do not fully emulate physical computers.

Real-World Example:

If a company moves a data processing application that was traditionally run on an on-premises physical server to the cloud, they might choose VMs on services like AWS EC2, Azure Virtual Machines, or Google Compute Engine to maintain the same OS environment and application compatibility.