CCSK Exam Questions Tutorials

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.

Access policies are a critical component of security frameworks that specify and enforce the permitted actions that users or systems can perform on resources, such as files, applications, or services. These policies help ensure that only authorized individuals or systems have access to certain resources and that they can only perform authorized actions, such as reading, writing, or modifying the resources. Access policies are fundamental in managing security and preventing unauthorized access, misuse, or attacks.

Access policies encrypt sensitive data is incorrect because encryption of sensitive data is typically handled by encryption policies, not access policies. Access policies determine where data can be stored is more related to data management policies rather than access control. Access policies scan systems for malware is related to security measures such as antivirus or anti-malware tools, not the scope of access control policies.

Threat modeling is the technique used to assess potential threats by analyzing attacker capabilities, motivations, and potential targets. It involves identifying, understanding, and prioritizing potential security threats in the context of a system or application. By considering the attackers' possible objectives and methods, organizations can design security controls to mitigate these risks proactively.

Vulnerability assessment focuses on identifying and evaluating vulnerabilities in a system, but it does not explicitly analyze attacker behavior or motivations. Incident response involves responding to security incidents after they occur, not proactively assessing potential threats. Risk assessment involves evaluating potential risks to an organization, but threat modeling specifically focuses on understanding and mitigating potential threats, making it a more targeted technique for this purpose.

The correct answer is D. Cloud systems automatically monitor resource usage and provide billing based on actual consumption.

Measured Service is one of the essential characteristics of cloud computing as defined by the NIST (National Institute of Standards and Technology). It implies that cloud systems automatically control and optimize resource usage by leveraging a metering capability. This capability tracks and reports resource consumption (such as CPU, storage, or bandwidth), which is used for billing, monitoring, and planning.

Key Characteristics:

Automatic Monitoring: Cloud platforms continuously track resource usage without manual intervention.

Billing Based on Usage: Customers are billed based on the actual consumption of resources (pay-as-you-go model).

Transparency: Users can view detailed usage reports to understand their resource utilization and associated costs.

Resource Optimization: Providers use these metrics to optimize resource allocation and improve efficiency.

Why Other Options Are Incorrect:

A. Fixed immutable set of measured services: This contradicts the concept of elasticity and resource pooling in cloud computing.

B. Elastic resources: While elasticity is a cloud characteristic, it does not directly define measured service.

C. Manual reporting: Measured service is about automated, real-time monitoring and billing, not manual data gathering.

Real-World Example:

In AWS, services like Amazon CloudWatch automatically collect and provide usage metrics, and the AWS Billing Console shows the cost associated with each resource.