Question 68 of 510

Security Architecture →hardMultiple ChoiceObjective-mapped

CAS-004 Security Architecture Practice Question

This CAS-004 practice question tests your understanding of security architecture. Match the stated requirement to the specific cloud service, access model, or configuration option — many options are valid in isolation but not for this scenario. 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 security architect is reviewing the network architecture of a financial trading system. The system uses a time-sensitive order matching engine that must process trades with minimal latency. The architect is concerned about the risk of a DDoS attack on the matching engine. Which of the following architectural changes would best mitigate DDoS risk while preserving low latency?

Clue words in this question

Noticing these words before you look at the options changes how you read each choice.

Clue: "best"
Why it matters: Signals that multiple options may be partially correct. Choose the option that most directly solves the exact problem described, not the one that sounds most complete.

Question 1hardmultiple choice

Full question →

A
Use a cloud-based DDoS scrubbing service that only forwards clean traffic to the on-premises matching engine.
Scrubbing services filter attacks at the cloud edge, adding minimal latency if the provider is close to the origin; they preserve low latency for clean traffic.
B
Deploy an intrusion prevention system (IPS) in inline mode in front of the matching engine.
Why wrong: Inline IPS adds latency and may drop legitimate traffic; not suitable for low-latency environments.
C
Move the matching engine to a cloud provider with elastic scalability.
Why wrong: Cloud migration may introduce network latency and does not inherently prevent DDoS; scaling can be expensive.
D
Implement a reverse proxy with rate limiting and IP blacklisting.
Why wrong: Rate limiting can cause false positives and adds latency; reverse proxy is not designed for high-volume DDoS mitigation.

Full breakdown with real-world context →

Answer choices

Why each option matters

Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.

Correct answer & explanation

✓

Use a cloud-based DDoS scrubbing service that only forwards clean traffic to the on-premises matching engine.

A cloud-based DDoS scrubbing service (e.g., AWS Shield Advanced, Cloudflare Magic Transit) filters malicious traffic at the cloud edge before it reaches the on-premises matching engine. This preserves low latency because only clean, low-volume traffic is forwarded, and the scrubbing infrastructure is designed for high-throughput, low-latency processing without introducing inline inspection delays on the critical path.

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.

✓
Use a cloud-based DDoS scrubbing service that only forwards clean traffic to the on-premises matching engine.
Why this is correct
Scrubbing services filter attacks at the cloud edge, adding minimal latency if the provider is close to the origin; they preserve low latency for clean traffic.
Clue confirmation
The clue word "best" in the question point toward this answer.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
✗
Deploy an intrusion prevention system (IPS) in inline mode in front of the matching engine.
Why it's wrong here
Inline IPS adds latency and may drop legitimate traffic; not suitable for low-latency environments.
✗
Move the matching engine to a cloud provider with elastic scalability.
Why it's wrong here
Cloud migration may introduce network latency and does not inherently prevent DDoS; scaling can be expensive.
✗
Implement a reverse proxy with rate limiting and IP blacklisting.
Why it's wrong here
Rate limiting can cause false positives and adds latency; reverse proxy is not designed for high-volume DDoS mitigation.

Common exam traps

Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword

The trap here is that candidates assume inline security controls (IPS, reverse proxy) are always appropriate, but for ultra-low-latency environments, any inline processing—even rate limiting—adds unacceptable delay, making cloud-based scrubbing the only viable option that offloads filtering without touching the critical path.

Detailed technical explanation

How to think about this question

Cloud DDoS scrubbing services use BGP flow specification (Flowspec) or DNS-based diversion to reroute traffic through scrubbing centers, where stateless packet filtering (e.g., SYN flood mitigation via SYN cookies, UDP reflection mitigation via source IP validation) occurs at line rate using ASICs or FPGAs. For a trading system, the scrubbing service must support UDP-based multicast or FIX protocol traffic without introducing jitter; providers like AWS Shield Advanced offer 'latency-optimized' scrubbing with sub-millisecond processing overhead.

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.

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FAQ

Questions learners often ask

What does this CAS-004 question test?

Security Architecture — This question tests Security Architecture — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..

What is the correct answer to this question?

The correct answer is: Use a cloud-based DDoS scrubbing service that only forwards clean traffic to the on-premises matching engine. — A cloud-based DDoS scrubbing service (e.g., AWS Shield Advanced, Cloudflare Magic Transit) filters malicious traffic at the cloud edge before it reaches the on-premises matching engine. This preserves low latency because only clean, low-volume traffic is forwarded, and the scrubbing infrastructure is designed for high-throughput, low-latency processing without introducing inline inspection delays on the critical path.

What should I do if I get this CAS-004 question wrong?

Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.

Are there clue words in this question I should notice?

Yes — watch for: "best". Signals that multiple options may be partially correct. Choose the option that most directly solves the exact problem described, not the one that sounds most complete.

What is the key concept behind this question?

Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.

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