You must correctly assign each control to provider or customer for a given service model, and choose native temporary-credential mechanisms over permanent accounts. The single most important thing: know that on IaaS you own the guest OS, data, and identity configuration, while the provider owns the physical and hypervisor layers.
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Cloud Security Fundamentals And Shared Responsibility — choose a session length
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Domain overview
This domain covers how security duties split between a cloud provider and its customer across IaaS, PaaS, and SaaS, and how that split drives identity, access, and threat-modeling decisions. Questions present real scenarios on AWS, Google Cloud, and Azure and ask you to assign responsibility or pick the correct native control.
Exam objectives
Mapping customer vs provider duties for AWS EC2, S3, and managed services like RDS
Using AWS STS AssumeRole and IAM roles for temporary third-party access instead of permanent IAM users
Applying Google Cloud Compute Engine IaaS shared responsibility boundaries for patching, data, and identity
Performing cloud-native threat modeling that accounts for provider APIs, metadata services, and ephemeral identities
Assuming the provider patches guest OS, middleware, or customer data on IaaS; that remains the customer's duty even though the hypervisor is managed.
Creating long-lived IAM users or access keys for external parties instead of issuing temporary credentials via STS AssumeRole with scoped policies.
Treating shared responsibility as identical across IaaS, PaaS, and SaaS; the customer's scope shrinks as the provider abstracts more layers.
Click any question to see the full explanation and answer options, or start a focused practice session above.
What is the primary goal of the 'Principle of Least Privilege' in a cloud environment?
2You are configuring a security group in AWS. What is the default behavior for inbound traffic?
3In a Google Cloud environment using Cloud SQL, which task remains the customer's responsibility?
4Which of the following is a core characteristic of cloud-native security?
5You are deploying a workload on Azure and need to ensure that the underlying hardware maintenance is handled by Microsoft. Which aspect of the Shared Responsibility Model does this represent?
6When implementing a 'Zero Trust' architecture in cloud, which component is most critical for verifying requests?
7You are auditing a cloud environment where a developer has created an S3 bucket with public read access. Under the AWS Shared Responsibility Model, who is responsible for configuring the bucket policy to restrict this access?
8In the context of AWS, which tool provides visibility into compliance and configuration drift?
9When using Azure Key Vault to store secrets, which entity holds the responsibility for the protection of the underlying hardware security module (HSM)?
10Which cloud security concept allows for the rapid restoration of services after a security incident?
11Which of the following is a critical step when performing a 'Cloud-Native' threat model?
12What is the primary function of a Cloud Security Posture Management (CSPM) tool?
13In GCP, what is the primary purpose of 'Organization Policy Service'?
14When securing a containerized application, where should you place the primary focus for security?
15You are analyzing a security risk in a multi-cloud environment. What is the most significant challenge regarding the Shared Responsibility Model?
16Which of the following is a benefit of using 'Identity and Access Management' (IAM) groups?
17In the context of 'Shared Responsibility', what does the customer typically manage in a SaaS (Software as a Service) offering?
18When configuring 'VPC Service Controls' in GCP, what is the main security benefit?
19In AWS, what is the best way to grant a temporary role to an external third-party auditor without creating permanent IAM users?
20When using 'Infrastructure as Code' (IaC), what is a key security risk if templates are shared publicly?
21Which service should you use to monitor for potential unauthorized API calls in your AWS account?
22What is the primary function of 'Multi-Factor Authentication' (MFA) in a cloud environment?
23Which TWO of the following are examples of customer responsibilities in the AWS Shared Responsibility Model? (Choose two)
24Which TWO of the following are primary security benefits of using cloud-native security tools? (Choose two)
25Which THREE of the following are pillars of a Zero Trust approach? (Choose three)
26Which TWO of the following are common risks associated with misconfigured cloud storage buckets? (Choose two)
27Which THREE of the following are required to maintain a secure cloud-native environment? (Choose three)
28Which TWO of the following are effective ways to secure access to your cloud management console? (Choose two)
29Which TWO of the following are common cloud-native security practices? (Choose two)
30Which THREE of the following are critical components of a comprehensive Cloud Security strategy? (Choose three)
31You are auditing an Azure environment. You need to ensure that the security of your guest operating systems is maintained. Under the shared responsibility model, what is the customer's primary responsibility for IaaS Virtual Machines?
32When evaluating Cloud-Native Security Platforms (CNSP), which area is primarily the responsibility of the cloud provider?
33You are analyzing a Prisma Cloud deployment to enforce compliance. You discover that a developer has created a public S3 bucket containing sensitive data. Which principle of the cloud security model is being violated?
34A company is migrating a legacy application to a containerized environment using Amazon EKS. Under the shared responsibility model, which action must the customer perform to secure the control plane?
35A security team is implementing 'Shift Left' security. What is the fundamental shift in responsibility for the development team?
36Which THREE of the following tasks are exclusively the responsibility of the cloud provider in a SaaS model?
37Which THREE of the following are examples of cloud-native security concepts?
38A healthcare company runs a patient portal on Google Cloud. The security team needs to classify which security controls are managed by the cloud provider versus the customer under the shared responsibility model. Which of the following is the sole responsibility of the customer?
39A financial services company is deploying a web application on Google Cloud using Cloud Run. The security team must determine which security controls are the company's responsibility under the shared responsibility model. Which of the following is the company's responsibility?
40A startup is using a public cloud provider's managed relational database service. The security lead wants to know which security control the cloud provider is responsible for under the shared responsibility model. Which of the following is the provider's responsibility?
41A startup is using a public cloud provider's managed relational database service. The startup's security lead needs to clarify which security task is the customer's responsibility under the shared responsibility model. Which of the following is the customer's responsibility?
42A company runs a web application on Google Cloud using Compute Engine instances behind an HTTP(S) load balancer. A security engineer must document the division of security responsibilities for the OS kernel on those instances. Under the Google Cloud shared responsibility model, who is responsible for patching the guest OS kernel?
43A small healthcare startup is deploying a new patient portal on Microsoft Azure using Azure App Service. The startup's security lead wants to understand the division of security duties. Under the shared responsibility model, which security task is the customer's responsibility?
44A multinational corporation uses a hybrid cloud architecture with sensitive workloads on-premises and non-sensitive workloads in a public cloud. The security architect must determine which security control remains the customer's responsibility regardless of the cloud service model. Which control is always the customer's responsibility?
45A fintech startup is deploying a web application on Microsoft Azure. The company has chosen Azure SQL Database, a fully managed PaaS offering. The CISO asks the security team to clarify which security tasks remain the customer's responsibility under the shared responsibility model. Which of the following is the customer's responsibility when using Azure SQL Database?
46A healthcare organization is using a container orchestration platform that is self-managed on cloud virtual machines. Under the shared responsibility model, which security control is the organization's responsibility?
47A financial services firm stores regulated data in an Amazon RDS for MySQL database. An auditor asks the security team to describe the shared responsibility boundary for the database engine and the data itself. Which statement accurately reflects the division of responsibilities?
48A financial services company runs a critical workload on Amazon EC2 instances. The security team is reviewing the shared responsibility model for IaaS. Which task is the customer responsible for?
49A financial services firm is migrating to a public cloud and needs to understand how the shared responsibility model affects their compliance with PCI DSS. They are using a mix of IaaS and PaaS. Which statement accurately reflects the division of responsibilities?
50A healthcare company runs a critical workload on Google Cloud. The security team is reviewing the shared responsibility model for Google Cloud's Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) offering, Compute Engine. The team must document which security controls are solely the customer's responsibility. Which of the following is the customer's responsibility when using Compute Engine?
51A security architect is designing a multi-cloud strategy and needs to understand how the shared responsibility model differs between IaaS and PaaS. Which statement accurately reflects the division of responsibilities?
52A startup deploys a serverless API using Azure Functions and stores secrets in Azure Key Vault. The CTO asks which security tasks remain with the startup under the Azure shared responsibility model. Which task is the startup's responsibility?
53A multinational corporation uses a multi-cloud strategy with workloads on AWS, Azure, and Google Cloud. The security architect is mapping security responsibilities across providers. The architect notes that each provider has a different shared responsibility model. Which of the following is the most significant challenge when applying the shared responsibility model in a multi-cloud environment?
54A company is using a cloud provider's function-as-a-service (FaaS) offering. The security team must identify which security tasks are the customer's responsibility under the shared responsibility model. (Choose two.)
55A healthcare provider runs workloads on Google Kubernetes Engine (GKE) Standard. A compliance reviewer asks the security team to identify which controls the provider must implement rather than relying on Google. Which control is the provider's responsibility?
56A security team is migrating an on-premises application to AWS. The application will run on Amazon EC2 instances behind an Application Load Balancer. The team must document the security tasks that remain the customer's responsibility under the AWS shared responsibility model. Which TWO of the following are customer responsibilities in this scenario? (Choose two.)
57A company is using a hybrid cloud model with on-premises and AWS resources. The security team is clarifying responsibilities under the shared responsibility model. Which TWO of the following are always the customer's responsibility, regardless of the service model? (Choose two.)
58A multinational retailer operates a multicloud environment with workloads on AWS, Azure, and Google Cloud. The security architect must document which responsibilities always remain with the retailer regardless of the cloud provider or service model. Which two responsibilities always remain with the cloud customer? (Choose two.)
59A cloud security analyst is reviewing the shared responsibility model for a SaaS application, such as Microsoft 365. The analyst must determine which security responsibility remains with the customer. Which of the following is a customer responsibility when using Microsoft 365?
60A security auditor is reviewing a SaaS deployment of Microsoft 365. The auditor notes that the company relies on Microsoft for many security controls. Under the shared responsibility model, which security control remains the customer's responsibility?
61A gaming company is deploying a new massively multiplayer online game on AWS. The infrastructure team uses Amazon EC2 instances behind an Application Load Balancer, with data stored in Amazon RDS. The security lead needs to clearly document which security controls the company itself must implement under the AWS shared responsibility model. Which of the following is a control that the company is responsible for in this deployment?
62A startup is using a SaaS customer relationship management (CRM) platform. The security officer wants to understand the division of responsibilities for data protection. In a SaaS model, which of the following is the customer's responsibility?
63A financial institution is using a hybrid cloud setup with Microsoft Azure. They run virtual machines in Azure and connect to on-premises databases via Azure VPN Gateway. The security team must ensure compliance with strict regulations. Under the Microsoft shared responsibility model, which of the following is the customer's responsibility?
64A retail company is deploying a multi-cloud environment using AWS and Azure. The security team is mapping out responsibilities under the shared responsibility model for their IaaS workloads. They need to identify tasks that are the customer's responsibility across both providers. (Choose two.)
You must correctly assign each control to provider or customer for a given service model, and choose native temporary-credential mechanisms over permanent accounts. The single most important thing: know that on IaaS you own the guest OS, data, and identity configuration, while the provider owns the physical and hypervisor layers.
The Courseiva CloudSec-Pro question bank contains 64 questions in the Cloud Security Fundamentals And Shared Responsibility domain. Click any question to see the full explanation and answer breakdown.
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