CCSP Cloud Concepts, Architecture and Design 1 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: According to NIST SP 800-145, which of the following is NOT one of the five essential characteristics of cloud computing?
- On-demand self-service
- Broad network access
- Dedicated hardware allocation (Correct answer)
- Measured service
Correct answer: Dedicated hardware allocation
NIST SP 800-145 defines five characteristics: on-demand self-service, broad network access, resource pooling, rapid elasticity, and measured service; dedicated hardware allocation contradicts the shared resource pooling model.
Question 2: Which cloud service model delivers a complete software application over the internet, managed entirely by the cloud provider with the least customer control over underlying infrastructure?
- IaaS (Infrastructure as a Service)
- PaaS (Platform as a Service)
- SaaS (Software as a Service) (Correct answer)
- FaaS (Function as a Service)
Correct answer: SaaS (Software as a Service)
SaaS delivers fully managed software applications where the provider manages infrastructure, platform, and application layers, leaving customers responsible only for user access and data.
Question 3: In the shared responsibility model for IaaS, which security component is the cloud service provider primarily responsible for securing?
- Guest operating systems
- Application configuration
- Hypervisor and physical infrastructure (Correct answer)
- Customer data
Correct answer: Hypervisor and physical infrastructure
In IaaS, the cloud provider manages the physical hardware and hypervisor layer, while customers are responsible for the OS, applications, and data above that layer.
Question 4: Which cloud deployment model is operated solely for a group of organizations with shared missions, security requirements, or compliance objectives?
- Public cloud
- Private cloud
- Hybrid cloud
- Community cloud (Correct answer)
Correct answer: Community cloud
A community cloud is provisioned for a specific community of consumers with common concerns such as shared mission, security requirements, policy, or compliance considerations.
Question 5: What is the primary function of a Cloud Access Security Broker (CASB)?
- To provide load balancing for cloud workloads
- To enforce security policies between cloud users and cloud service providers (Correct answer)
- To manage virtual machine provisioning in the cloud
- To optimize application performance across cloud regions
Correct answer: To enforce security policies between cloud users and cloud service providers
A CASB serves as an intermediary between cloud users and cloud providers, enforcing security policies, providing visibility into cloud usage, and ensuring regulatory compliance.
Question 6: What does the Cloud Security Alliance (CSA) Cloud Controls Matrix (CCM) provide to cloud customers?
- A directory of government-approved cloud vendors
- A framework of security controls aligned to cloud-specific risk factors and compliance requirements (Correct answer)
- Real-time security monitoring for cloud environments
- Pricing benchmarks for cloud security services
Correct answer: A framework of security controls aligned to cloud-specific risk factors and compliance requirements
The CSA CCM provides a framework of control objectives structured across 17 domains to help organizations assess the security risk of cloud providers and map controls to industry standards.
Question 7: In cloud computing, which NIST characteristic allows users to unilaterally provision computing capabilities such as server time and network storage without requiring human interaction with the service provider?
- Resource pooling
- Rapid elasticity
- On-demand self-service (Correct answer)
- Measured service
Correct answer: On-demand self-service
On-demand self-service enables users to provision computing resources automatically as needed without requiring human interaction with each service provider.
CCSP Cloud Concepts, Architecture and Design 1
According to NIST SP 800-145, which of the following is NOT one of the five essential characteristics of cloud computing?