CDPSE Technical Privacy Controls 4 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Which network architecture pattern isolates services that process personal data, limiting lateral movement if one component is compromised?
- Flat network topology
- Network segmentation with micro-perimeters (Correct answer)
- Software-defined wide area networking (SD-WAN)
- Anycast routing
Correct answer: Network segmentation with micro-perimeters
Network segmentation (including micro-segmentation) confines personal data flows to specific zones, reducing the blast radius of a breach.
Question 2: A Zero Trust Architecture (ZTA) requires that every request be authenticated and authorized regardless of network location. Which privacy benefit does this directly provide?
- It eliminates the need for data encryption in transit
- It prevents over-privileged lateral access to personal data stores after initial perimeter breach (Correct answer)
- It automatically applies data minimization to API responses
- It replaces the need for identity and access management (IAM)
Correct answer: It prevents over-privileged lateral access to personal data stores after initial perimeter breach
ZTA's continuous verification principle means that even an attacker who gains internal network access must still authenticate and be authorized before reaching personal data.
Question 3: An engineer is configuring logging for a system that processes health records. Which of the following is the MOST important privacy consideration for log files?
- Logs should capture all PII fields for complete audit trails
- Logs must be stored unencrypted to allow rapid forensic search
- PII should be redacted or tokenized in logs unless explicitly required for the audit purpose (Correct answer)
- Log retention should match the lifetime of the personal data being processed
Correct answer: PII should be redacted or tokenized in logs unless explicitly required for the audit purpose
Logs frequently become secondary repositories of PII; redacting or tokenizing sensitive fields limits exposure while preserving operational and audit value.
Question 4: What does 'data residency' control ensure in cloud deployments involving personal data?
- Data is replicated to at least three geographic regions for resilience
- Personal data is stored and processed only within specified geographic boundaries (Correct answer)
- Data is encrypted using keys managed within the same cloud region
- Data is deleted automatically when it leaves the designated environment
Correct answer: Personal data is stored and processed only within specified geographic boundaries
Data residency controls enforce that personal data remains within a defined jurisdiction to satisfy legal and regulatory requirements such as GDPR adequacy decisions.
Question 5: A privacy engineer is evaluating a vendor's cloud storage service. Which cryptographic control gives the organization the STRONGEST assurance that the vendor cannot access stored personal data?
- Vendor-managed encryption keys (SSE-S3)
- Customer-managed encryption keys stored in the vendor's KMS
- Customer-managed keys stored in an external Hardware Security Module (HSM) the vendor cannot access (Correct answer)
- Transport encryption using TLS 1.3
Correct answer: Customer-managed keys stored in an external Hardware Security Module (HSM) the vendor cannot access
Holding encryption keys in an external HSM that the vendor cannot access ensures that even with full access to ciphertext, the vendor cannot decrypt personal data.
Question 6: Which secure development practice BEST reduces the risk of privacy vulnerabilities being introduced into production systems?
- Conducting a privacy impact assessment only after deployment
- Integrating privacy threat modeling and code review into the SDLC from design through release (Correct answer)
- Relying on penetration testing as the sole privacy verification method
- Requiring developers to sign acceptable-use policies before accessing source code
Correct answer: Integrating privacy threat modeling and code review into the SDLC from design through release
Embedding privacy threat modeling and review throughout the SDLC (Privacy by Design) catches vulnerabilities early when they are cheapest to fix.
Question 7: A mobile application uses the device advertising identifier (IDFA/GAID) for cross-app tracking. Under a privacy-by-design approach, what is the recommended control?
- Hash the advertising identifier before transmitting it
- Obtain explicit opt-in consent and provide a mechanism to reset or opt out (Correct answer)
- Store the identifier only on the device with no server-side copy
- Replace the advertising identifier with the device's MAC address
Correct answer: Obtain explicit opt-in consent and provide a mechanism to reset or opt out
Privacy-by-design requires explicit user consent for cross-context tracking and user control (opt-out/reset), satisfying both technical and regulatory requirements.
CDPSE Technical Privacy Controls 4
Which network architecture pattern isolates services that process personal data, limiting lateral movement if one component is compromised?