CCSK Exam Dumps - Cloud Security Alliance Cloud Security Knowledge Questions and Answers

AI can enhance anomaly detection in cybersecurity by analyzing large volumes of data and identifying patterns that deviate from normal behavior. By using machine learning algorithms, AI can improve the accuracy of anomaly detection, reducing false positive alerts. This helps security teams focus on genuine threats while minimizing distractions from irrelevant alerts.

Assisting analysts is a valid benefit of AI, but reducing false positives directly improves anomaly detection capabilities. Threat intelligence refers to gathering and analyzing information about potential threats but isn't directly focused on reducing false positives in the same way as anomaly detection. Automated responses can be part of AI's role in cybersecurity, but reducing false positives is more directly related to improving anomaly detection.

The primary function of Privileged Identity Management (PIM) and Privileged Access Management (PAM) is to manage the risk of elevated permissions. These systems are designed to control and monitor access to sensitive resources and actions by users with elevated or privileged access rights, such as administrators. By managing these privileged accounts and ensuring they are granted only when necessary, for the least amount of time, and with appropriate oversight, organizations reduce the risk of misuse or abuse of these powerful permissions.

This helps protect critical systems and sensitive data from being compromised by unauthorized access, which is especially important for maintaining the security of IT environments.

Data classification is a fundamental security practice used to protect sensitive information based on risk, confidentiality, integrity, and regulatory requirements.

Key Factors in Data Classification:

Data Sensitivity:

Organizations classify data based on how sensitive it is:

Public (e.g., marketing material).

Internal Use Only (e.g., business plans).

Confidential (e.g., financial reports).

Restricted/Highly Confidential (e.g., personal healthcare records, credit card details).

Compliance & Legal Requirements:

Certain data types have strict compliance laws:

PII (Personally Identifiable Information) → GDPR, CCPA

Financial Data → PCI DSS

Healthcare Data → HIPAA

Cloud providers must ensure security policies align with compliance frameworks.

Impact on Security Controls:

Highly sensitive data requires encryption at rest and in transit.

Access control must be enforced with least privilege and IAM policies.

Risk Management:

Proper data classification helps organizations define security policies such as:

Retention policies (How long data should be stored?).

Backup and disaster recovery strategies.

This is outlined in:

CCSK v5 - Security Guidance v4.0, Domain 11 (Data Security and Encryption)

Cloud Controls Matrix (CCM) - Data Security and Data Classification Standards​

The correct answer is A. Authorization. In Identity and Access Management (IAM), authorization is the process of determining whether a subject (user, application, or device) has the right to access a specific system object, such as networks, data, or applications. Authorization decisions are made after successful authentication and are based on the subject's permissions, roles, or attributes.

Key Characteristics of Authorization:

Decision Making: Determines if access is permitted or denied based on policies or permissions.

Role and Attribute-Based Access: Often uses Role-Based Access Control (RBAC) or Attribute-Based Access Control (ABAC) mechanisms to enforce policies.

Post-Authentication Process: Occurs after authentication has verified the user's identity.

Resource-Specific: Determines the level of access or specific operations (like read, write, execute) a user is allowed.

Example Scenario:

When a user logs into a cloud platform, the system first authenticates the user (verifies their identity) and then authorizes their access to specific resources, such as viewing data in an S3 bucket or managing a VM instance. The access policies define what actions the authenticated user can perform.

Why Other Options Are Incorrect:

B. Federation: Involves linking a user's identity across multiple systems or domains but does not decide access permissions.

C. Authentication: The process of verifying a user's identity, typically through passwords, biometrics, or multi-factor authentication (MFA), but it does not determine resource access.

D. Provisioning: Refers to creating and managing user accounts and permissions, but it does not make real-time access decisions.

Real-World Context:

In cloud environments, services like AWS IAM or Azure AD use policies to authorize user actions after they have been authenticated. For instance, an AWS IAM policy might allow a user to list S3 buckets but deny deletion.

Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) is a critical security tool for cloud environments that monitors, detects, and responds to endpoint threats.

Why EDR is Essential for Cloud Security?

Real-Time Threat Detection & Response

EDR continuously monitors endpoint activity (e.g., cloud VMs, servers, containers).

Detects anomalous behavior, malware, and unauthorized access attempts.

Automated Remediation & Forensics

Uses Machine Learning (ML) & AI to analyze cloud endpoint telemetry.

Supports automated response actions (isolating infected endpoints, rolling back malicious changes).

Cloud-Native Security Integration

Works with Cloud Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) and Security Orchestration, Automation, and Response (SOAR).

Enables proactive threat hunting in hybrid and multi-cloud environments.

Complements Other Cloud Security Tools

WAF (Web Application Firewall) protects against web-based attacks (OWASP Top 10) but does not provide endpoint security.

UTM (Unified Threat Management) is more suited for traditional perimeter security (firewalls, IPS/IDS).

IDS (Intrusion Detection System) only detects threats, whereas EDR actively responds to them.

This aligns with:

CCSK v5 - Security Guidance v4.0, Domain 7 (Infrastructure Security)

Cloud Controls Matrix (CCM) - Endpoint Security Controls​.

Establishing a cloud deployment registry is crucial for cloud incident response because it helps track critical information related to the cloud environment, such as incident support options, account details, and contact information for cloud service providers (CSPs). This registry provides a central place where key details about cloud services and deployments are documented, allowing the incident response team to quickly access necessary information, escalate issues to the appropriate CSP support teams, and coordinate response efforts effectively.