CREST Security Architecture & Design 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: What is a zero-trust security model?
- Never trust, always verify — every request must be authenticated and authorized regardless of network location (Correct answer)
- Trusting all traffic inside the corporate network perimeter
- Blocking all external traffic by default
- Allowing only encrypted traffic on the network
Correct answer: Never trust, always verify — every request must be authenticated and authorized regardless of network location
Zero trust assumes no implicit trust based on network location and requires continuous verification of identity and authorization for every request.
Question 2: Which STRIDE threat category relates to an attacker pretending to be a legitimate user or system?
- Spoofing (Correct answer)
- Tampering
- Repudiation
- Information disclosure
Correct answer: Spoofing
Spoofing in STRIDE refers to falsely claiming an identity, such as impersonating a legitimate user, service, or IP address.
Question 3: What is the primary goal of a security architecture review?
- Identifying security weaknesses in a system's design before implementation or deployment (Correct answer)
- Reviewing the source code for bugs
- Testing live systems for vulnerabilities
- Auditing user access logs
Correct answer: Identifying security weaknesses in a system's design before implementation or deployment
A security architecture review examines design decisions to identify risks and weaknesses early, when they are cheapest to remediate.
Question 4: Which concept ensures that no single individual can complete a critical task without involvement from another person?
- Separation of duties (Correct answer)
- Least privilege
- Need to know
- Job rotation
Correct answer: Separation of duties
Separation of duties requires that sensitive tasks be divided among multiple people to prevent fraud and reduce insider threat risk.
Question 5: What does the term 'attack surface' refer to in security architecture?
- The sum of all exploitable entry points and vulnerabilities in a system (Correct answer)
- The physical area a server occupies
- The number of active firewall rules
- The total bandwidth consumed by attacks
Correct answer: The sum of all exploitable entry points and vulnerabilities in a system
The attack surface encompasses all pathways and interfaces through which an attacker could attempt to access or compromise a system.
Question 6: Which security principle states that a system should fail in a secure state when an error occurs?
- Fail secure (fail closed) (Correct answer)
- Fail open
- Defense in depth
- Least privilege
Correct answer: Fail secure (fail closed)
Fail secure means that when a system encounters an error, it defaults to a secure state such as denying access rather than granting it.
CREST Security Architecture & Design 2
What is a zero-trust security model?