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CCSP Practice Question: A cloud security team wants to automatically…
A cloud security team wants to automatically block malicious requests to a web application before they reach the application servers. Which solution should they implement?
⚠ Common exam trap
A common mix-up: candidates confuse IDS (passive alerting) with IPS (inline blocking), or assume RASP can block traffic before it reaches the application, when in fact RASP operates within the application runtime and cannot prevent initial request arrival at the server boundary.
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
✓
Cloud Web Application Firewall (WAF)
A Cloud Web Application Firewall (WAF) is the correct solution because it operates at the application layer (Layer 7) to inspect HTTP/HTTPS traffic and block malicious requests—such as SQL injection, cross-site scripting (XSS), and OWASP Top 10 attacks—before they reach the application servers. Unlike an IDS, a WAF can actively block traffic in real time, and it is deployed at the network edge or cloud gateway, providing inline prevention without requiring changes to the application code.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Intrusion Detection System (IDS)
Why it's wrong here
IDS monitors network traffic but does not typically block requests inline.
- ✗
Runtime Application Self-Protection (RASP)
Why it's wrong here
RASP instruments the running application from inside its own process, so it can only detect and block attacks after the request has already reached the application server. A web application firewall at the network edge inspects and drops malicious traffic before it arrives, which is what the scenario demands.
- ✓
Cloud Web Application Firewall (WAF)
Why this is correct
A cloud WAF inspects inbound HTTP/S requests against managed and custom rules, blocking malicious payloads at the edge before they reach origin servers. This satisfies the stem's requirement to automatically block attacks such as SQL injection and cross-site scripting prior to application processing.
- ✗
Static Application Security Testing (SAST)
Why it's wrong here
SAST analyses source code or binaries during development to find coding flaws; it produces findings for remediation rather than inspecting live HTTP traffic, so it cannot block requests in production. It suits secure SDLC gates, not runtime enforcement at the network edge.
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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.