hardMultiple ChoiceObjective-mapped
CCSP Practice Question: A company's cloud storage bucket policy…
A company's cloud storage bucket policy inadvertently allowed anonymous users to list and read objects. After discovering the exposure, the security team has corrected the policy. Which additional step is critical to prevent recurrence?
⚠ Common exam trap
ISC2 often tests the distinction between detective controls (logging/monitoring) and preventive controls (automated validation in IaC), and the trap here is that candidates choose option A because they think monitoring is sufficient, but the question specifically asks for a step to 'prevent recurrence,' which requires a preventive control.
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
✓
Implement automated policy validation as part of the infrastructure as code deployment process.
Implementing automated policy validation as part of the infrastructure as code (IaC) deployment process ensures that any bucket policy changes are automatically checked against security rules before they are applied. This prevents misconfigurations like allowing anonymous access from reaching production, addressing the root cause rather than just reacting after exposure. In cloud environments like AWS S3, tools such as AWS CloudFormation with cfn-nag or Terraform with Sentinel can enforce policies programmatically, eliminating human error in manual reviews.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Enable logging and monitoring to detect similar exposures.
Why it's wrong here
Monitoring detects but does not prevent recurrence.
- ✗
Assign a dedicated security team to manually approve all policy changes.
Why it's wrong here
Manual approval is slow and subject to human error.
- ✗
Review all existing bucket policies and correct any other misconfigurations.
Why it's wrong here
A one-time review does not prevent future mistakes.
- ✓
Implement automated policy validation as part of the infrastructure as code deployment process.
Why this is correct
Automated checks in CI/CD prevent misconfigured policies from being applied.
Quick reference
AWS S3 Storage Class Comparison
| Storage Class | Min Duration | Retrieval | Use Case |
|---|---|---|---|
| S3 Standard | None | Immediate | Frequently accessed data |
| S3 Standard-IA | 30 days | Immediate | Infrequent access, rapid retrieval |
| S3 One Zone-IA | 30 days | Immediate | Non-critical infrequent data |
| S3 Intelligent-Tiering | None | Immediate–hours | Unknown or changing access patterns |
| S3 Glacier Instant | 90 days | Milliseconds | Archive with instant retrieval |
| S3 Glacier Flexible | 90 days | Minutes–hours | Archive, flexible retrieval |
| S3 Glacier Deep Archive | 180 days | Hours | Long-term compliance archive |
Go deeper
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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.