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CCSP Practice Question: A cloud security engineer is tasked with…
A cloud security engineer is tasked with automating the response to a detected malware infection on a virtual machine. The engineer wants to isolate the VM from the network immediately upon detection. Which cloud-native feature should be used?
⚠ Common exam trap
ISC2 often tests the distinction between network isolation (security groups) and forensic preservation (snapshots), trapping candidates who confuse post-incident analysis steps with immediate containment actions.
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
✓
Modify the VM's security group to deny all inbound and outbound traffic.
Modifying the VM's security group to deny all inbound and outbound traffic is the correct cloud-native method to immediately isolate the VM from the network. Security groups act as a virtual firewall at the instance level, and by removing all allow rules, you effectively block all traffic to and from the VM, containing the malware without deleting or powering off the instance.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Take a snapshot of the VM for forensic analysis.
Why it's wrong here
Snapshots capture disk state, not network isolation.
- ✓
Modify the VM's security group to deny all inbound and outbound traffic.
Why this is correct
Security groups can be updated programmatically to isolate the VM.
- ✗
Attach the VM to a different load balancer.
Why it's wrong here
Load balancers do not provide isolation.
- ✗
Create a site-to-site VPN connection for the VM.
Why it's wrong here
A VPN connects networks, it does not isolate.
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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.