CCSK Identity and Access Management in Cloud

Question 1

What is 'federated identity' in the context of CCSK cloud security?

Accepted Answer

Using a single identity across multiple systems through trust relationships between identity providers

Answer

Federated identity allows a single identity (from an IdP) to be trusted across multiple systems or cloud providers without separate credential sets.

Question 2

In CCSK, what is the recommended approach to privileged access management (PAM) in cloud environments?

Accepted Answer

Use just-in-time (JIT) privilege elevation with full audit logging of privileged sessions

Answer

JIT privilege elevation grants elevated access only when needed and for a limited time, minimizing the window of exposure for privileged credentials.

Question 3

What does CCSK identify as the primary risk of using long-lived API keys for cloud service authentication?

Accepted Answer

Long-lived keys increase the window of exposure if compromised and are often not rotated properly

Answer

Long-lived API keys that are never rotated represent a persistent credential risk — if leaked, they provide indefinite unauthorized access.

Question 4

What is 'attribute-based access control' (ABAC) and how does it enhance cloud IAM?

Accepted Answer

Access control that uses user attributes (department, location, device) to make fine-grained access decisions

Answer

ABAC evaluates multiple attributes of the user, environment, and resource to make dynamic, context-aware access control decisions beyond simple role assignments.

Question 5

According to CCSK, why is MFA (multi-factor authentication) especially critical for cloud management consoles?

Accepted Answer

Because management consoles provide broad control over all cloud resources, making them high-value targets

Answer

Cloud management consoles grant access to provision, modify, or delete infrastructure — a single compromised credential could give attackers control of the entire environment.

CCSK - Certificate of Cloud Security Knowledge Practice Test

CCSK - Certificate of Cloud Security Knowledge Practice Test

CCSK Identity and Access Management in Cloud