Question 151 of 504

Cloud Application Security →hardMultiple ChoiceObjective-mapped

CCSP Cloud Application Security Practice Question

This CCSP practice question tests your understanding of cloud application security. This is a configuration task: choose the command set that satisfies every stated requirement. Small differences — like 'secret' vs 'password' or 'transport input ssh' vs 'all' — change whether the answer is correct. 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 financial services company deploys a containerized application on Amazon ECS with Fargate. The application needs to access an encrypted RDS database. The security policy mandates that database credentials must never be stored in the application code or configuration files and must be rotated automatically every 90 days. Which solution should the DevOps team implement to satisfy these requirements?

Clue words in this question

Noticing these words before you look at the options changes how you read each choice.

Clue: "never"
Why it matters: Absolute qualifier. True only if the statement has zero exceptions — be cautious of options that seem obvious but break down in edge cases.

Question 1hardmultiple choice

Full question →

A
Store credentials in AWS Secrets Manager, grant ECS task role access, and enable automatic rotation
Secrets Manager supports rotation and integrates with ECS, meeting all requirements.
B
Encrypt credentials with AWS KMS and pass them as environment variables during task definition
Why wrong: Environment variables still expose credentials in memory logs; does not meet 'not stored in code' strictly.
C
Store credentials in AWS Systems Manager Parameter Store (SecureString) and retrieve them at container startup
Why wrong: Parameter Store does not automatically rotate credentials.
D
Use a secrets vault like Hashicorp Vault deployed on EC2 and mount secrets via sidecar container
Why wrong: Vault requires additional management and does not natively support ECS task roles.

Full breakdown with real-world context →

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

✓

Store credentials in AWS Secrets Manager, grant ECS task role access, and enable automatic rotation

AWS Secrets Manager is the correct choice because it is designed to securely store, retrieve, and automatically rotate database credentials on a schedule (e.g., every 90 days) without storing them in code or configuration. By granting the ECS task role (via IAM) permission to access the secret, the Fargate task can retrieve the credentials at runtime using the AWS SDK or CLI, ensuring they are never hardcoded. This satisfies both the no-storage-in-code and automatic rotation requirements mandated by the security policy.

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.

✓
Store credentials in AWS Secrets Manager, grant ECS task role access, and enable automatic rotation
Why this is correct
Secrets Manager supports rotation and integrates with ECS, meeting all requirements.
Clue confirmation
The clue word "never" in the question point toward this answer.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
✗
Encrypt credentials with AWS KMS and pass them as environment variables during task definition
Why it's wrong here
Environment variables still expose credentials in memory logs; does not meet 'not stored in code' strictly.
✗
Store credentials in AWS Systems Manager Parameter Store (SecureString) and retrieve them at container startup
Why it's wrong here
Parameter Store does not automatically rotate credentials.
✗
Use a secrets vault like Hashicorp Vault deployed on EC2 and mount secrets via sidecar container
Why it's wrong here
Vault requires additional management and does not natively support ECS task roles.

Common exam traps

Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword

ISC2 often tests the distinction between AWS Secrets Manager and Systems Manager Parameter Store, where candidates mistakenly choose Parameter Store because it is cheaper, but they overlook that Secrets Manager provides native automatic rotation for RDS credentials, which is explicitly required by the policy.

Detailed technical explanation

How to think about this question

AWS Secrets Manager uses a built-in rotation mechanism that integrates directly with Amazon RDS, allowing you to configure a Lambda function to rotate the password for the database user automatically. The ECS task role is an IAM role assumed by the Fargate task, which can be used to call the GetSecretValue API over HTTPS, ensuring credentials are never exposed in logs or environment variables. In a real-world scenario, if the application crashes during a rotation window, the old credentials remain valid until the rotation completes, preventing downtime.

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 SOC analyst notices unusual lateral movement in the network at 2 AM. The IR playbook dictates: identify and contain (isolate the affected machine), then eradicate (remove the malware), then recover (restore from backup), then document. Skipping containment before eradication risks the attacker regaining access. Questions like this test the sequence and rationale of incident response phases.

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.

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FAQ

Questions learners often ask

What does this CCSP question test?

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: Store credentials in AWS Secrets Manager, grant ECS task role access, and enable automatic rotation — AWS Secrets Manager is the correct choice because it is designed to securely store, retrieve, and automatically rotate database credentials on a schedule (e.g., every 90 days) without storing them in code or configuration. By granting the ECS task role (via IAM) permission to access the secret, the Fargate task can retrieve the credentials at runtime using the AWS SDK or CLI, ensuring they are never hardcoded. This satisfies both the no-storage-in-code and automatic rotation requirements mandated by the security policy.

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: "never". Absolute qualifier. True only if the statement has zero exceptions — be cautious of options that seem obvious but break down in edge cases.

What is the key concept behind this question?

Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.

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