CAS-004 Security Architecture Practice Question
An organization is adopting a DevSecOps approach and wants to integrate security early in the development lifecycle. Which practice involves creating visual representations of threats and identifying potential attack vectors during the design phase?
⚠ Common exam trap
It's easy for candidates to confuse design-phase activities with testing or runtime protection; candidates often pick SAST or DAST because they are familiar security practices, but the key phrase 'during the design phase' and 'visual representations' points exclusively to threat modeling.
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
✓
Threat modeling
Threat modeling is a structured process that visually maps system components, data flows, and trust boundaries to identify potential threats and attack vectors during the design phase. It aligns with DevSecOps by shifting security left, enabling teams to address risks before code is written. Frameworks like STRIDE and tools like Microsoft Threat Modeling Tool are commonly used to create these visual representations.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✓
Threat modeling
Why this is correct
Threat modelling produces structured diagrams of systems, data flows and trust boundaries, then enumerates potential attack vectors against them. Conducted during design, it shifts security left, satisfying the DevSecOps goal of integrating security early in the development lifecycle.
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Dynamic application security testing (DAST)
Why it's wrong here
DAST probes a running application from outside, sending crafted requests to find exploitable flaws; it produces no design-phase artefacts and cannot map attack vectors before code exists. It is tempting because it integrates into CI pipelines against deployed builds, and it would be correct for testing a live staging environment's runtime behaviour.
- ✗
Static application security testing (SAST)
Why it's wrong here
SAST analyses source code or bytecode for insecure patterns such as injection flaws, but it inspects implementation, not architecture, so it cannot produce visual threat representations during design. It is tempting because it shifts security left into the IDE and pull requests, and it would be correct for catching coding defects early.
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Runtime application self-protection (RASP)
Why it's wrong here
RASP instruments a running application to detect and block attacks at execution time, so it operates after deployment and generates no design-phase threat models. It is tempting because it protects production workloads without code changes, and it would be correct for defending a live application against exploitation attempts.
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JA
Written and reviewed by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
Last reviewed September 2026 · checked against the official CompTIA exam blueprint
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