200-901 Application Deployment and Security Practice Question
This 200-901 practice question tests your understanding of application deployment and security. Read the scenario carefully and evaluate each option against the stated constraints before committing to an answer. After answering, compare your reasoning against the explanation and wrong-answer breakdown below. Once you have made your selection, read the full explanation to reinforce the concept and understand why each distractor is designed to mislead on exam day.
A company is implementing a secure CI/CD pipeline. Which THREE practices are essential for securing the pipeline?
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Sign and verify all build artifacts.
Signing and verifying build artifacts ensures integrity and authenticity, preventing tampered artifacts from being deployed. This is a core supply chain security practice, often implemented using tools like GPG or Sigstore (Cosign) to generate and validate cryptographic signatures. Without verification, an attacker could inject malicious code into the pipeline by replacing a signed artifact with a compromised one.
Key principle: Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
✓
Sign and verify all build artifacts.
Why this is correct
Signing ensures artifacts are not tampered with.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
✗
Allow all container images to be pulled from any public registry.
Why it's wrong here
This introduces risk of malicious images; use a curated registry.
✗
Store secrets (API keys, passwords) in version control.
Why it's wrong here
Secrets should never be in version control; use secret management tools.
✓
Implement role-based access control (RBAC) on the CI/CD system.
Why this is correct
RBAC limits access to pipeline resources.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
✓
Use static application security testing (SAST) tools in the build stage.
Why this is correct
SAST helps find vulnerabilities early in development.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
Cisco often tests the misconception that 'allowing any public registry' is acceptable for speed or convenience, but the correct practice is to restrict registries to trusted, scanned sources to prevent supply chain attacks.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
Under the hood, artifact signing uses asymmetric cryptography: the CI/CD system signs the artifact hash with a private key, and the deployment stage verifies the signature with the corresponding public key. In a real-world scenario, a compromised build server could inject backdoors into unsigned artifacts; signing with a hardware security module (HSM) or key management service (KMS) adds a hardware root of trust. SAST tools (option E) integrate into the build stage by parsing source code for patterns matching known vulnerabilities (e.g., OWASP Top 10), but they cannot detect runtime or configuration issues, which is why they complement rather than replace other security controls.
KKey Concepts to Remember
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
Find the constraint that changes the correct option.
Eliminate answers that are true in general but not in this case.
TExam Day Tips
→Watch for words such as best, first, most likely and least administrative effort.
→Review why wrong options are wrong, not only why the correct option is correct.
Key takeaway
Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Real-world example
How this comes up in practice
A small business has 20 workstations on the 192.168.1.0/24 network and one public IP from its ISP. The router uses PAT (NAT overload) so all 20 devices share one public address using different source ports. NAT questions test whether you understand the four address terms and which direction each translation applies.
What to study next
Got this wrong? Here's your next step.
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
Application Deployment and Security — This question tests Application Deployment and Security — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Sign and verify all build artifacts. — Signing and verifying build artifacts ensures integrity and authenticity, preventing tampered artifacts from being deployed. This is a core supply chain security practice, often implemented using tools like GPG or Sigstore (Cosign) to generate and validate cryptographic signatures. Without verification, an attacker could inject malicious code into the pipeline by replacing a signed artifact with a compromised one.
What should I do if I get this 200-901 question wrong?
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
What is the key concept behind this question?
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
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Question Discussion
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