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CCSP Practice Question: A cloud security architect is designing a…
A cloud security architect is designing a defense-in-depth strategy for a multi-tenant IaaS environment. Which of the following controls would BEST protect against workload isolation failure due to a hypervisor vulnerability?
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
✓
Deploy a dedicated virtual firewall instance for each tenant to enforce network segmentation.
Deploying a dedicated virtual firewall instance for each tenant provides network-level isolation that is independent of the hypervisor, mitigating the risk of workload isolation failure due to a hypervisor vulnerability. Option A is wrong because weekly vulnerability scans are detective, not preventive, and do not actively prevent exploitation. Option C is wrong because while applying patches and disabling services reduces the attack surface, a zero-day hypervisor vulnerability could still exist and be exploited. Option D is wrong because encrypted virtual disks protect data at rest but do not prevent a hypervisor escape or workload isolation failure.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Perform weekly vulnerability scans of the hypervisor and tenant workloads.
Why it's wrong here
Scans are detective controls, not preventive against exploitation.
- ✓
Deploy a dedicated virtual firewall instance for each tenant to enforce network segmentation.
Why this is correct
Network segmentation using virtual firewalls provides an additional layer of isolation even if the hypervisor is compromised.
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Apply the latest hypervisor security patches and disable unnecessary services.
Why it's wrong here
Patching addresses known vulnerabilities but cannot ensure isolation if an unknown vulnerability is exploited.
- ✗
Use encrypted virtual disks for all tenant virtual machines.
Why it's wrong here
Encryption protects data at rest but does not prevent workload isolation failure.
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JA
Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
This CCSP practice question is part of Courseiva's free ISC2 certification practice question bank. Courseiva provides original exam-style practice questions with explanations, topic-based practice, mock exams, readiness tracking, and study analytics to help learners prepare for the CCSP exam.