This CCSP practice question tests your understanding of cloud application security. Read the scenario carefully and evaluate each option against the stated constraints before committing to an answer. After answering, compare your reasoning against the explanation and wrong-answer breakdown below. Once you have made your selection, read the full explanation to reinforce the concept and understand why each distractor is designed to mislead on exam day.
A developer is implementing a cloud application that stores sensitive user data. To minimize the risk of data exposure during transit, which security control should be enforced as a baseline requirement?
Clue words in this question
Noticing these words before you look at the options changes how you read each choice.
Clue: "minimum / minimize"
Why it matters: Asks for the least resource use — fewest addresses, smallest subnet, lowest overhead. Eliminate over-provisioned options even if they would technically work.
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Enforce TLS for all data in transit
TLS (Transport Layer Security) is the industry-standard protocol for encrypting data in transit, providing confidentiality, integrity, and authentication. Enforcing TLS for all communications ensures that sensitive user data is protected from eavesdropping and tampering during transmission, making it a baseline requirement for cloud application security.
Key principle: Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
✗
Implement IPsec tunnels between components
Why it's wrong here
IPsec is network-layer encryption, but not typically applied to individual application connections.
✗
Use HTTPS without additional controls
Why it's wrong here
HTTPS uses TLS, but the baseline should be TLS directly; HTTPS is just HTTP over TLS.
✗
Require SSH for all connections
Why it's wrong here
SSH is for remote shell access, not for application data in transit.
✓
Enforce TLS for all data in transit
Why this is correct
TLS encrypts data in transit, protecting confidentiality and integrity.
Clue confirmation
The clue word "minimum / minimize" in the question point toward this answer.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
ISC2 often tests the misconception that HTTPS alone is sufficient, but the trap here is that 'HTTPS without additional controls' (Option B) is not a baseline requirement because it lacks enforcement of strong TLS versions, certificate validation, and protections like HSTS, making it vulnerable to attacks that TLS enforcement (Option D) explicitly mitigates.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
TLS operates at the transport layer (OSI Layer 4-5) and uses a handshake protocol to negotiate cipher suites, exchange certificates, and derive session keys. A common subtlety is that TLS 1.3 (RFC 8446) removes support for older, insecure cipher suites and reduces handshake latency, but many cloud environments still default to TLS 1.2; enforcing a minimum version is critical to avoid downgrade attacks. In a real-world scenario, a misconfigured load balancer might terminate TLS but forward traffic in plaintext internally, exposing data if internal links are not also encrypted.
KKey Concepts to Remember
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
Find the constraint that changes the correct option.
Eliminate answers that are true in general but not in this case.
TExam Day Tips
→Watch for words such as best, first, most likely and least administrative effort.
→Review why wrong options are wrong, not only why the correct option is correct.
Key takeaway
Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Real-world example
How this comes up in practice
A developer is choosing between AES-256 (symmetric) and RSA-2048 (asymmetric) for encrypting a large file that will be sent to a partner. Symmetric encryption is fast but requires key exchange; asymmetric is slower but solves the key distribution problem. A hybrid approach — encrypt the file with AES, encrypt the AES key with RSA — is standard. Questions like this test whether you understand when each approach applies.
What to study next
Got this wrong? Here's your next step.
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
Cloud Application Security — This question tests Cloud Application Security — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Enforce TLS for all data in transit — TLS (Transport Layer Security) is the industry-standard protocol for encrypting data in transit, providing confidentiality, integrity, and authentication. Enforcing TLS for all communications ensures that sensitive user data is protected from eavesdropping and tampering during transmission, making it a baseline requirement for cloud application security.
What should I do if I get this CCSP question wrong?
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
Are there clue words in this question I should notice?
Yes — watch for: "minimum / minimize". Asks for the least resource use — fewest addresses, smallest subnet, lowest overhead. Eliminate over-provisioned options even if they would technically work.
What is the key concept behind this question?
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
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Question Discussion
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