ISC Risk Management Practice Question
An organization is deploying a serverless architecture (AWS Lambda). How does the risk of patch management change compared to a traditional IaaS model?
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
✓
Patch management of the underlying host OS is handled by the cloud provider.
In serverless, the provider manages the underlying operating system and runtime patches, shifting the responsibility of patch management from the user to the provider, though the user still remains responsible for their code and configuration.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✓
Patch management of the underlying host OS is handled by the cloud provider.
Why this is correct
This is the primary security advantage of serverless computing architectures.
- ✗
Patch management complexity increases due to the number of functions.
Why it's wrong here
The provider simplifies this; it does not increase the complexity for the user.
- ✗
The user must now use a specialized patching tool for the serverless platform.
Why it's wrong here
No such tool exists as the environment is managed by the provider.
- ✗
The user is no longer responsible for any patching.
Why it's wrong here
The user is still responsible for patching their own application code and libraries.
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 |
About these practice questions
One of 209 original ISC practice questions on Courseiva, each with a full explanation and wrong-answer analysis — not exam dumps or protected exam content. Learn why practice questions differ from exam dumps →
JA
Written and reviewed by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
Last reviewed August 2026 · checked against the official (ISC)² exam blueprint
This ISC practice question is part of Courseiva's free (ISC)² 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 ISC exam.