CCSP Cloud Application Security Practice Question
A financial organization is migrating a critical application to a cloud environment. The application processes sensitive customer data and must comply with PCI DSS. The security architect proposes using serverless functions for the compute layer. Which security control is essential to protect the application from injection attacks?
⚠ Common exam trap
ISC2 often tests the misconception that a WAF is a universal injection defense, but in serverless architectures, injection can occur through non-HTTP triggers (e.g., S3 events, DynamoDB Streams) where a WAF has no visibility, making parameterized queries the essential 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
✓
Use parameterized queries in the functions' database calls
Injection attacks (e.g., SQL injection) exploit untrusted input that is concatenated into database queries. Parameterized queries (prepared statements) separate SQL logic from data, ensuring user input is treated as data only, not executable code. This is the foundational control for preventing injection in serverless functions that interact with databases, as required by PCI DSS Requirement 6.5.1.
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 function-level logging for audit trails
Why it's wrong here
Logging helps detect incidents but does not prevent injection attacks.
- ✓
Use parameterized queries in the functions' database calls
Why this is correct
Parameterized queries prevent injection by separating SQL code from user input.
- ✗
Encrypt all data in transit between functions
Why it's wrong here
Encryption protects data from eavesdropping but does not prevent injection attacks.
- ✗
Implement a web application firewall (WAF) in front of the functions
Why it's wrong here
WAF can detect and block some injection attempts, but it is not a substitute for secure coding practices like parameterized queries.
Quick reference
Cloud Service Model Comparison
| Model | You Manage | Provider Manages | Examples |
|---|---|---|---|
| IaaS | OS, runtime, apps, data | Hardware, hypervisor, networking | EC2, Azure VMs, GCP Compute Engine |
| PaaS | Apps and data | OS, runtime, middleware, hardware | Elastic Beanstalk, Azure App Service |
| SaaS | Data and settings only | Everything else | Microsoft 365, Salesforce, Workday |
| FaaS / Serverless | Function code only | Infra, scaling, runtime | Lambda, Azure Functions, Cloud Run |
| CaaS | Containers and apps | Kubernetes, OS, hardware | EKS, AKS, GKE |
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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.