ISC2 CSSLP Exam Dumps and Braindumps

Which data protection approach changes or conceals sensitive values to keep them confidential when they are used in development and testing?

• ❏ A. Cloud Data Loss Prevention

• ❏ B. Anonymization

• ❏ C. Tokenization

• ❏ D. Obfuscation

For a cloud application deployed by Meridian Financial who is typically regarded as the owner of the application data?

• ❏ A. The software development team

• ❏ B. The IT operations or platform team

• ❏ C. The Chief Data Officer or an appointed data steward

• ❏ D. The organization or business unit that relies on the application

Which compliance framework is specifically intended for companies that handle credit and debit card transactions to ensure the security of cardholder systems and data?

• ❏ A. ISO 27001 Information Security Management System

• ❏ B. Google Cloud Armor

• ❏ C. Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard

• ❏ D. NIST Special Publication 800 53

What is the primary objective of secure software supply chain practices for a development team that wants to avoid using compromised components?

• ❏ A. Binary Authorization

• ❏ B. Increase release speed and shorten time to production

• ❏ C. Lower the chance of incorporating tampered or malicious third party components

• ❏ D. Achieve complete adherence to every regulatory standard

Which security design principle favors simple implementations and minimal components and therefore supports using single sign on systems and credential managers?

• ❏ A. Component reuse

• ❏ B. Least common mechanism

• ❏ C. Economy of mechanism

• ❏ D. Open design

Why do large organizations put in place companywide secure coding guidelines for developers?

• ❏ A. Cloud Security Command Center

• ❏ B. They help ensure security features are implemented comprehensively

• ❏ C. They reduce some categories of common vulnerabilities

• ❏ D. They guarantee error free software

When preparing misuse and abuse cases for a software product what activities are generally performed to anticipate how it might be exploited?

• ❏ A. Running vulnerability aggregation and findings analysis with Google Cloud Security Command Center

• ❏ B. Reviewing the application functional requirements and user stories for gaps

• ❏ C. Enumerating likely attacker tactics and specific exploitation scenarios against the application

• ❏ D. Mapping data sensitivity classifications to storage and processing categories

A development team at Meridian Systems is defining their security testing strategy and plan, and they need guidance on best practices and timing. Which statement is accurate?

• ❏ A. Google Cloud Security Command Center

• ❏ B. Perform security testing only after deployment in the live environment

• ❏ C. Include both automated vulnerability scans and hands on penetration testing in a comprehensive security testing plan

• ❏ D. Focus security testing solely on the application tier and ignore network and host layers

Which categories of problems are suitable for static code analysis to detect in a software repository?

• ❏ A. Syntax checks, allowed function calls, and attempting to detect race conditions

• ❏ B. Cloud Trace

• ❏ C. Syntax validation, permitted libraries, and runtime memory usage profiling

• ❏ D. Syntax checking, approved API or library usage, and semantic validation of code logic and call structures

A mid sized software company is creating a group to handle production incidents and they want the team to be most effective. What team composition usually produces the best outcomes?

• ❏ A. Run mainly by the site reliability engineering team

• ❏ B. Staffed only by the top software engineers

• ❏ C. Composed exclusively of senior management

• ❏ D. A cross functional team with representatives from all required disciplines

All ISC2 question come from my CSSLP Udemy Course and certificationexams.pro

A digital health startup named NovaLine is designing a new platform and wants to manage security risks through every phase of the software development lifecycle. Which practice should be incorporated early and maintained continuously to address security risks?

• ❏ A. Conducting a risk assessment only after the project is completed

• ❏ B. Adding security requirements during the architecture and design phase

• ❏ C. Cloud Security Command Center

• ❏ D. Providing security training only after coding is finished

• ❏ E. Limiting security testing to the deployment stage

Which of the following is not considered a form of distributed processing?

• ❏ A. Client server model

• ❏ B. Peer to peer architecture

• ❏ C. Ubiquitous pervasive computing

• ❏ D. Service oriented architecture

A regional insurance provider requires a written “need to acquire” declaration before approving any software purchase. What specific elements does that declaration list? (Choose 3)

• ❏ A. Assurance case

• ❏ B. Estimated total lifecycle cost

• ❏ C. Documented business case

• ❏ D. Defined product scope and boundaries

An information security analyst at Aurora Systems is reviewing a confidentiality model where users cannot read information above their clearance and they cannot write information to a lower clearance. Which access control model enforces this policy?

• ❏ A. Role based access control

• ❏ B. Cloud Identity and Access Management

• ❏ C. Mandatory access control

• ❏ D. Attribute based access control

A payments startup measures defects per thousand lines of code across its repositories to monitor code quality. Which category of software assessment does that metric represent?

• ❏ A. Vulnerability scanning

• ❏ B. Code review

• ❏ C. Threat modeling

• ❏ D. Static code analysis

Which statement accurately describes system non-functional requirements and their role in software behavior?

• ❏ A. They prescribe procedures to retire or decommission the application at its end of life

• ❏ B. They dictate how the application should operate during external network outages and dependent system failures

• ❏ C. They define quality attributes such as performance scalability security usability and maintainability

• ❏ D. They are satisfied by configuring platform controls such as Cloud IAM and VPC firewall rules

When a company enforces formal authorization for a proposed modification what formal and detailed document must be created to specify the exact tasks and deliverables required to carry out the change?

• ❏ A. Technical design document

• ❏ B. Change request record in the ITSM system

• ❏ C. Statement of work

• ❏ D. Quality assurance and test plan

Which techniques are commonly used to perform code analysis during software development and testing? (Choose 2)

• ❏ A. Dependency vulnerability scanning

• ❏ B. Dynamic code analysis

• ❏ C. Peer walkthrough review

• ❏ D. Static code analysis

LogiCore is configuring a federated identity setup where a web application accepts assertions from an external identity provider. What fundamental element must that relationship rely on?

• ❏ A. TLS

• ❏ B. Established trust relationship

• ❏ C. Cloud Identity

• ❏ D. Public key certificates

Which software security requirement focuses on assigning sensitivity levels and evaluating potential consequences for stored information?

• ❏ A. Cloud Data Loss Prevention

• ❏ B. Data ownership

• ❏ C. Data anonymization

• ❏ D. Data classification

All ISC2 question come from my CSSLP Udemy Course and certificationexams.pro

Which legal doctrine normally establishes ownership rights for creative digital works such as software and other intangible online assets?

• ❏ A. Trademark law

• ❏ B. Patent protection

• ❏ C. Copyright law

• ❏ D. Warranties and guarantees

Which form of security testing is most appropriate to measure an application’s scalability reliability and performance under operational load?

• ❏ A. Penetration testing

• ❏ B. Functional security validation

• ❏ C. Attack surface analysis

• ❏ D. Nonfunctional security assessment

Which software development approach prioritizes accepting evolving requirements and gathering frequent stakeholder feedback throughout the project lifecycle?

• ❏ A. Waterfall model

• ❏ B. DevOps

• ❏ C. Agile methodology

• ❏ D. Iterative development

Which processor security feature provides hardware based encryption of system memory to protect sensitive information from physical memory extraction?

• ❏ A. Role Based Access Control (RBAC)

• ❏ B. AMD Secure Memory Encryption (SME)

• ❏ C. Software Guard Extensions (SGX)

• ❏ D. Separation Kernel Protection Profiles (SKPP)

What aspect of a system does a data flow diagram most clearly represent?

• ❏ A. Cloud IAM

• ❏ B. Potential attack scenarios

• ❏ C. Data movement and storage

• ❏ D. User privilege assignments

Within software development what type of testing is commonly meant by the phrase code review?

• ❏ A. Automated static code analysis tools

• ❏ B. Compilers run with extra diagnostic flags

• ❏ C. Manual peer inspection of source code by developers

• ❏ D. Runtime dynamic analysis and fuzz testing tools

Which of the following items would not normally be classified as a security test case?

• ❏ A. Performance and usability testing

• ❏ B. Stakeholder communication

• ❏ C. Functional testing

• ❏ D. User interface testing

What technique should a web application use to confirm that values sent by clients conform to the expected data types and formats?

• ❏ A. Cloud Audit Logging

• ❏ B. Input validation

• ❏ C. Error and exception handling

• ❏ D. Output sanitization

When drafting a service level agreement what key element should be included so the provider and the customer can objectively determine whether commitments were met and take action if they were not?

• ❏ A. Using vague language for performance expectations to shield the provider

• ❏ B. Leaving out specified remedies or financial penalties for missed commitments

• ❏ C. Specifying clear measurable performance metrics and thresholds

• ❏ D. Neglecting to document escalation paths and communication procedures

Which scenario best illustrates auditing as a method of accountability within a technology company?

• ❏ A. A monitoring system detects a service failure and writes diagnostic events to a system log

• ❏ B. A login attempt is refused and a record of the failed authentication attempt is stored

• ❏ C. A background data repair job automatically corrects discovered record inconsistencies

• ❏ D. An employee uses a proximity badge to enter a locked workstation where files are erased and an entry recording the employee’s identity and the action is retained

A regional fintech company needs security controls that staff will actually use. Which security design principle emphasizes making protections easy to use and acceptable to people?

• ❏ A. Defense in depth

• ❏ B. Economy of mechanism principle

• ❏ C. Psychological acceptability of controls

• ❏ D. Complete mediation principle

A regional insurer is evaluating methods for assessing threats across its cloud environment. What is qualitative risk assessment primarily used for?

• ❏ A. To decide which technology platforms to adopt

• ❏ B. To compute estimated monetary loss figures

• ❏ C. To plan and organize testing activities for deployments

• ❏ D. To rank and prioritize organizational responses to identified risks

Why are system requirements regarded as primary project artifacts when beginning software work?

• ❏ A. Cloud Security Command Center

• ❏ B. They define the operations and behaviors the application must perform

• ❏ C. They describe the adversarial and operational environment that could affect the application

• ❏ D. They prescribe the implementation techniques and development steps to be used

A payment technology company called Northbridge Systems deploys updates to its customer portal and the security team must run tests. What is the primary goal of regression testing during security assessments?

• ❏ A. To use automated scanners to detect vulnerabilities

• ❏ B. To confirm that security patches have not reintroduced previously fixed flaws

• ❏ C. To verify that recent code changes do not introduce defects into existing features

• ❏ D. To validate cryptographic implementations and algorithm usage

What is the primary purpose of performing security reviews during the software development lifecycle?

• ❏ A. Cloud Security Command Center

• ❏ B. Fuzz testing

• ❏ C. Validation of the software development process and assurance that security controls are followed

• ❏ D. Static and dynamic testing of code and runtime behavior

The correct answer is Obfuscation.

Obfuscation refers to changing or concealing sensitive values so that developers and testers work with realistic looking data while the original secrets remain protected. Typical obfuscation techniques include masking, scrambling, and substitution which preserve data format and usability without exposing real sensitive information in development and testing environments.

Cloud Data Loss Prevention is a vendor service that can detect and deidentify sensitive data and apply transformations, but it is not the generic data protection approach described by the question. The question asks for the approach rather than a specific product.

Anonymization seeks to remove or irreversibly alter identifiers so that individuals cannot be reidentified. That irreversibility often reduces the usefulness of the data for realistic testing and so it does not match the idea of changing values to preserve usability during development.

Tokenization replaces sensitive values with tokens and relies on a secure token vault to map back to the original values. That is a different protection model and it is commonly used in production systems or payment processing rather than as a simple method to provide safe, realistic test data without a vault.

When you see these choices focus on whether the method changes values to preserve testability or removes them permanently and whether the process is reversible. That distinction usually indicates obfuscation versus anonymization or tokenization.

The organization or business unit that relies on the application is the correct answer because that entity bears the business and legal accountability for the application data and for decisions about how it is classified, retained, shared, and disclosed.

The organization or business unit that relies on the application defines the purpose of the data, owns the risk and compliance obligations, and sets access and retention policies. The development team and operations teams provide technical capabilities and the governance roles provide oversight, but ownership of the data usually rests with the business function that uses and depends on it.

The software development team is incorrect because developers build and maintain the application and its features but they are typically custodians of code and technical artifacts rather than the business owners who decide how data is used or disclosed.

The IT operations or platform team is incorrect because operations teams are responsible for availability, performance, and technical protection of systems and they act as custodians who implement controls rather than as the business owners who set data policy and bear legal obligations.

The Chief Data Officer or an appointed data steward is incorrect in the general case because these roles usually provide governance, standards, and stewardship across the enterprise. They may be delegated ownership for certain data domains in some organizations but they most often act to support or represent the business unit that retains the primary ownership.

When deciding data ownership on an exam think about who has business accountability and legal responsibility for the data. Technical teams are custodians and governance roles are stewards but the business unit normally owns the data.

The correct answer is Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard.

Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard is a security standard created by the PCI Security Standards Council to protect cardholder data and to secure payment card processing environments. It defines specific technical and operational requirements for merchants, processors, and service providers that store, process, or transmit credit and debit card data including network security, protection of cardholder data, access controls, monitoring, and regular testing.

ISO 27001 Information Security Management System is a general framework for establishing an information security management system and it is not specific to payment card handling. Organizations can use ISO 27001 to strengthen overall security but it does not replace the cardholder focused requirements of PCI DSS.

Google Cloud Armor is a cloud service that provides DDoS mitigation and web application firewall features and it is not a compliance framework. It can support technical controls required by standards but it does not itself define the policies and processes for protecting cardholder data.

NIST Special Publication 800 53 is a catalog of security and privacy controls aimed primarily at federal information systems and it is not focused on payment card data. It can be mapped to PCI requirements in some implementations but it is not the standard designed specifically for cardholder data protection.

When a question mentions handling credit or debit card transactions look for PCI DSS because it is the standard explicitly written for cardholder data security.

Lower the chance of incorporating tampered or malicious third party components is the correct option.

Secure software supply chain practices are designed to ensure that components and dependencies have verifiable provenance and integrity before they are included in a build or release. Teams implement measures such as artifact signing, reproducible builds, software bill of materials, dependency scanning, and strict vetting to reduce the risk that a third party component has been tampered with or contains malicious code.

Binary Authorization is a deployment policy enforcement tool that helps ensure only approved and signed images are allowed to run. It can support supply chain security but it is not the primary objective of supply chain practices and it does not by itself prevent compromised third party components from entering the build process.

Increase release speed and shorten time to production describes a desirable outcome for DevOps but it is not the main security goal. Speed can sometimes conflict with security and it does not directly address the risk of incorporating tampered dependencies.

Achieve complete adherence to every regulatory standard is a compliance goal that may be important for some organizations. It is not the core objective of secure supply chain practices which focus on preventing compromised or malicious components rather than satisfying every regulation.

When asked for the primary objective pick the answer that directly addresses preventing compromised dependencies and use elimination to remove options that describe tools, secondary benefits, or compliance goals.

The correct answer is Economy of mechanism.

Economy of mechanism is the design principle that favors simple and small implementations so they are easier to understand test and secure. A simpler authentication design with a single sign on system or a credential manager reduces the number of components and interfaces that must be protected and verified which lowers the chance of configuration errors and vulnerabilities.

Economy of mechanism also makes auditing and formal analysis more practical because there is less code and fewer interaction paths to review. Centralizing authentication into a well designed minimal mechanism supports consistency in credential handling and reduces the overall attack surface compared with many disparate custom solutions.

Component reuse is incorrect because reuse focuses on leveraging existing modules to avoid duplication rather than insisting on minimal or simple designs. Reused components can still create complexity and integration points that contradict the economy of mechanism goal.

Least common mechanism is incorrect because that principle emphasizes minimizing shared mechanisms between users or processes to avoid unintended interference. It is about separation and reducing common dependencies rather than simplifying the overall design to support single sign on or credential managers.

Open design is incorrect because it states that security should not depend on secrecy of the design and that algorithms and designs can be public. It does not specifically promote minimal implementations or fewer components which is the focus of economy of mechanism.

When a question mentions simple or minimal components choose the principle that calls for small and easy to analyze designs. Keywords like simple and minimal almost always point to economy of mechanism.

They help ensure security features are implemented comprehensively is the correct answer.

Companywide secure coding guidelines set consistent expectations for developers and ensure that security features are implemented in a repeatable and auditable way. They document required controls and secure patterns and they drive consistent testing and review practices across teams.

When guidelines are part of the development lifecycle they help ensure that design level security decisions and coding level protections are applied uniformly. This reduces implementation gaps and makes it easier to enforce secure defaults and to integrate automated checks into CI pipelines.

Cloud Security Command Center is incorrect because it is a Google Cloud product for asset discovery and security monitoring and not a set of developer coding guidelines. It is an operational tool rather than a companywide policy for how developers write code.

They reduce some categories of common vulnerabilities is incorrect because it understates the purpose. Secure coding guidelines aim for comprehensive implementation of security controls and secure patterns across the codebase rather than only addressing some vulnerability categories.

They guarantee error free software is incorrect because no guideline can guarantee error free software. Guidelines reduce risk and lower the incidence of vulnerabilities but they cannot eliminate all bugs or design flaws.

For policy and governance questions choose answers that mention consistency or organization wide application and be wary of options that make absolute claims like guarantee.

The correct answer is Enumerating likely attacker tactics and specific exploitation scenarios against the application.

This activity is correct because preparing misuse and abuse cases requires thinking like an attacker and listing likely tactics and concrete exploitation scenarios. By enumerating attacker goals, entry points, required preconditions, and specific exploit paths you can identify realistic threats, prioritize testing, and design targeted mitigations and controls.

Running vulnerability aggregation and findings analysis with Google Cloud Security Command Center is incorrect because that activity focuses on collecting and managing discovered vulnerabilities and findings in an environment rather than proactively imagining how the application could be misused by an attacker. It is useful for remediation but it does not by itself produce misuse scenarios.

Reviewing the application functional requirements and user stories for gaps is incorrect because reviewing requirements can reveal functional issues and missing security needs but it does not directly enumerate attacker tactics or specific exploitation scenarios. It is a complementary activity that helps inform threat modeling but it is not the primary step for misuse case development.

Mapping data sensitivity classifications to storage and processing categories is incorrect because data classification supports impact assessment and control selection rather than identifying how an attacker would exploit the application. It helps determine protection levels but it does not replace the attacker-focused analysis needed for misuse and abuse cases.

When a question asks about misuse or abuse cases think like an attacker and choose the option that emphasizes enumerating likely tactics and concrete exploitation scenarios rather than options that are about inventorying or classifying assets.

The correct answer is: Include both automated vulnerability scans and hands on penetration testing in a comprehensive security testing plan

This option is correct because automated vulnerability scanning and manual penetration testing serve complementary purposes. Automated scans provide broad and repeatable coverage that is suited to continuous integration and frequent checks. Human led penetration testing finds complex logic issues chained exploits and business logic problems that automated tools often miss.

A comprehensive testing plan should include both approaches and apply them across the development lifecycle. Scanning can run continuously in development and CI pipelines and manual tests can be scheduled against staging and production with clear rules of engagement to reduce risk.

Google Cloud Security Command Center is an important tool for visibility asset inventory and managing security findings but it is not by itself a testing strategy. It helps centralize and prioritize results that come from scanners and tests but it does not replace performing scans and penetration tests.

Perform security testing only after deployment in the live environment is incorrect because waiting until production delays discovery of vulnerabilities and increases risk. Security testing should start early in development and continue through staging and production with appropriate controls.

Focus security testing solely on the application tier and ignore network and host layers is incorrect because vulnerabilities exist at multiple layers and misconfigurations at the network or host level can be exploited. A thorough plan covers application network host and cloud configuration testing.

On the exam look for answers that mention both automated and manual testing and remember that good practice is to test early and continuously across environments.

The correct answer is Syntax checking, approved API or library usage, and semantic validation of code logic and call structures.

Static code analysis inspects source and build artifacts to perform syntax checking and to enforce patterns for approved API or library usage. It can also apply semantic checks by building control flow and call graphs to find suspicious logic and improper call structures. These techniques work without running the program because they reason about code structure, types, and data flow.

Syntax checks, allowed function calls, and attempting to detect race conditions is incorrect because attempting to detect race conditions reliably requires dynamic information about thread scheduling and runtime behavior. Static tools can flag potential concurrency issues but they cannot definitively detect all race conditions from code alone.

Cloud Trace is incorrect because it is a runtime distributed tracing service and not a category of static code analysis. It collects traces from running services and does not analyze code in a repository.

Syntax validation, permitted libraries, and runtime memory usage profiling is incorrect because runtime memory usage profiling requires executing the program with profilers or instrumentation. Static analysis cannot measure actual memory usage at runtime even though it can flag code patterns that might lead to high memory use.

When a question contrasts tools that work on source code with tools that require execution choose the answer focused on code structure and data or control flow because runtime metrics need the program to run.

The correct answer is A cross functional team with representatives from all required disciplines.

A cross functional team with representatives from all required disciplines works best because it brings together the skills you need at the time of the incident so work can proceed in parallel and with minimal handoffs. A team with representatives from development, operations, security, database, and networking allows decisions to be made quickly and for fixes to be implemented and validated without waiting for other groups to be pulled in.

A cross functional team with representatives from all required disciplines also improves post incident learning and continuous improvement because those who operated the systems and those who built them share context and root cause analysis. This reduces repeated failures and spreads operational knowledge across the organization so recovery becomes faster over time.

Run mainly by the site reliability engineering team is not ideal because relying mostly on one specialty creates a single point of expertise and can slow resolution when domain specific knowledge is needed from other teams. SREs add great process and tooling but they cannot cover every domain alone.

Staffed only by the top software engineers is wrong because top engineers may excel at coding but they may not have the operational, security, or infrastructure expertise needed during complex incidents. Limiting the team to engineers also reduces capacity to coordinate and validate fixes across all systems.

Composed exclusively of senior management is also incorrect because senior managers usually lack the hands on technical knowledge to diagnose and remediate incidents quickly and they can add coordination overhead when technical action is required immediately.

When you see questions about incident teams pick the option that emphasizes cross functional membership and clear role ownership because those characteristics reduce handoffs and speed recovery.

The correct option is Adding security requirements during the architecture and design phase.

Adding security requirements during the architecture and design phase is correct because embedding security goals and controls early lets teams perform threat modeling and select appropriate countermeasures before expensive rework is needed. Defining and maintaining those requirements throughout development ensures that design decisions, coding practices, and tests align with the identified risks and that risk management is continuous.

Conducting a risk assessment only after the project is completed is wrong because waiting until the end misses opportunities to design mitigations and makes fixes more costly and disruptive. Risk assessment should be done early and revisited as the project evolves.

Cloud Security Command Center is wrong because it is a specific tool and not a lifecycle practice that ensures security is addressed from design through delivery. Tools can assist detection and monitoring but they do not substitute for integrating security requirements into architecture and design.

Providing security training only after coding is finished is wrong because training developers after the code is written cannot prevent insecure design choices and implementation errors. Training is most effective when it is continuous and occurs before and during development.

Limiting security testing to the deployment stage is wrong because testing only at deployment finds issues late and increases remediation cost. Effective security testing spans design reviews, static and dynamic analysis, and continuous testing in the pipeline.

When an answer pairs security with being applied early and continuously it is usually correct for SDLC questions. Favor practices that embed requirements and testing into each phase rather than ones that happen only once or that name a single tool.

The correct answer is Ubiquitous pervasive computing.

Distributed processing normally refers to architectures that split computation and resources across multiple cooperating nodes so tasks are executed in parallel or remotely. Ubiquitous pervasive computing is a broader paradigm about embedding computation into everyday objects and environments to provide seamless, context aware services and human centric experiences. That emphasis on pervasiveness and user context means it is not primarily described as an architectural model for distributing processing across cooperating systems and so it is not considered a form of distributed processing in the same sense as the other options.

Client server model is a classic distributed processing architecture where clients request services from servers and processing and data can be distributed across multiple machines. This model clearly fits the definition of distributed processing.

Peer to peer architecture distributes responsibility and processing among equal nodes that communicate directly so computation and resources are shared across the network. That distribution of work makes it a form of distributed processing.

Service oriented architecture organizes functionality into networked services that can run on different hosts and interact over the network. The use of separate services across multiple systems is a distributed processing approach.

When you must select the item that is not a form of distributed processing look for terms that describe a computing paradigm focused on integration and context rather than an architectural model for splitting computation.

The correct options are Assurance case, Documented business case, and Defined product scope and boundaries.

The Documented business case is required because it records the justification for the purchase and links the acquisition to business needs and expected benefits. It provides decision makers with the rationale, the objectives that the software must meet, and the high level risk and return considerations that support approval.

The Defined product scope and boundaries item is required because it sets what the product must do and what it will not cover. Clear scope and boundaries prevent scope creep and help assess fit with existing systems and responsibilities. They also make it possible to identify integration, data flow, and security responsibilities before procurement.

The Assurance case is required because it states the security and assurance claims for the product and the evidence that will be provided to support those claims. An assurance case lets approvers understand what level of confidence they can place in the product and what artifacts or testing will be available to demonstrate that confidence.

The Estimated total lifecycle cost is not the specific element asked for in a short written need to acquire declaration. Cost estimates are often produced as part of broader procurement planning but the declaration itself focuses on justification, scope, and assurance rather than a full lifecycle cost breakdown.

When answering procurement questions look for items that justify why the purchase is needed and what it must cover. Emphasize business justification, scope, and assurance rather than detailed cost figures when a short need to acquire declaration is requested.

Mandatory access control is the correct option.

The policy described matches the confidentiality rules enforced by Mandatory access control. In this model the system assigns fixed security labels to data and clearances to users and it enforces rules centrally. The Bell LaPadula model captures the confidentiality principles no read up and no write down and it is commonly implemented using mandatory controls to prevent reading higher classifications and writing to lower classifications.

Role based access control focuses on roles and permissions granted to users based on their job functions. It does not by itself enforce fixed label based confidentiality rules and it will not inherently prevent reading above a clearance or writing to a lower classification.

Cloud Identity and Access Management is a service for managing identities and permissions in cloud platforms. It is an implementation for access management rather than a label driven confidentiality model and it does not by default implement the strict no read up no write down rules described.

Attribute based access control uses attributes about users resources and the environment to make decisions and it is very flexible. Although ABAC can be configured to approximate label based policies the classic strict clearance and classification rules described are the hallmark of mandatory access control and that makes MAC the best answer for this scenario.

When a question mentions fixed security labels or strict classification rules think mandatory access control rather than RBAC or ABAC.

Static code analysis is correct because measuring defects per thousand lines of code is a source code quality metric that comes from automated analysis of code rather than from runtime testing or manual design exercises.

Static code analysis tools analyze source or compiled code without executing it and they produce quantitative metrics such as defects per KLOC, cyclomatic complexity, and code smells. These metrics are useful for tracking code quality across repositories and for feeding continuous integration pipelines.

Vulnerability scanning is incorrect because vulnerability scanners typically examine running systems, deployed applications, or binaries for known vulnerabilities and misconfigurations and they do not generally produce defects per thousand lines of source code as a core metric.

Code review is incorrect because code review is a human inspection process and while reviewers can count defects it is not the automated, codebase wide metric described in the question and it is not typically reported as defects per KLOC by tools.

Threat modeling is incorrect because threat modeling is a design phase activity that identifies potential attackers and attack paths and it does not produce line of code based defect density metrics.

When a question mentions a metric tied to lines of code or defect density think static first because those measurements come from source code analysis tools rather than runtime scans or design reviews.

They define quality attributes such as performance scalability security usability and maintainability is the correct statement.

The correct option describes what system non functional requirements are. Non functional requirements express the quality attributes and constraints that govern how a system performs and behaves rather than what functions it implements. These attributes are used to set measurable targets for architecture decisions testing and acceptance criteria and they drive design choices around performance scalability security usability and maintainability.

They prescribe procedures to retire or decommission the application at its end of life is incorrect because retirement and decommissioning are operational lifecycle procedures. Those procedures belong to deployment and operational plans rather than to non functional requirements which describe quality attributes and constraints.

They dictate how the application should operate during external network outages and dependent system failures is incorrect because this wording implies runbooks and operational behavior. Non functional requirements may include availability and resilience goals but they do not typically prescribe exact operational steps for outage handling. Incident response and failover procedures are operational designs and runbook content that implement resilience goals.

They are satisfied by configuring platform controls such as Cloud IAM and VPC firewall rules is incorrect because platform controls are implementation choices that can help meet non functional requirements. Non functional requirements are requirements to be satisfied by architecture testing and controls and they are not themselves satisfied solely by configuring specific platform settings.

When you see choices that describe qualities or measurable targets think non functional requirements. If an option describes procedures or specific platform configurations then it is more likely an operational detail or design implementation.

The correct option is Statement of work.

The Statement of work is a formal and detailed document created to define the exact tasks and deliverables required to carry out an authorized change. It specifies scope, acceptance criteria, timelines, roles and responsibilities, and deliverables so that the change can be executed and measured against agreed outcomes.

The Statement of work is used in procurement and project governance and it serves as the contract level description of what must be delivered and when, which is why it is the appropriate document when formal authorization is enforced.

Technical design document is focused on architecture and implementation details and it does not serve as the contract level list of tasks and deliverables that a SOW provides. It may feed into the SOW but it is not the formal SOW itself.

Change request record in the ITSM system captures the request, approvals, scheduling and metadata about the change but it does not contain the full, detailed breakdown of tasks and deliverables. It often references the SOW or other planning documents rather than replacing them.

Quality assurance and test plan describes how verification and validation will be performed and it focuses on test cases and acceptance criteria. It does not define the comprehensive set of tasks and deliverables required to implement the change.

When a question asks for a formal, contractual description of all required work and deliverables look for the term Statement of work rather than a design document or a test plan.

The correct options are Static code analysis and Dynamic code analysis.

Static code analysis examines source code or compiled binaries without executing the program to identify coding errors, insecure constructs and patterns that lead to vulnerabilities. It is commonly performed by linters and SAST tools during development and in continuous integration to catch issues early.

Dynamic code analysis evaluates the application while it is running to find flaws that only appear at runtime such as input validation failures, memory issues and configuration problems. DAST tools and runtime instrumentation are used during testing and staging to observe actual behavior under real execution conditions.

Dependency vulnerability scanning focuses on identifying known vulnerabilities in third party libraries and packages rather than analyzing the application code itself. This approach is important for supply chain security and is usually referred to as software composition analysis.

Peer walkthrough review is a manual code review practice where developers inspect each other’s code and discuss design and defects. It is a valuable quality activity but it is not one of the automated static or dynamic analysis techniques that the question targets.

Static and dynamic analyses are complementary. Run static checks early in the pipeline and perform dynamic tests against running builds to catch issues that appear only at runtime.

Established trust relationship is correct because federated identity requires the application and the external identity provider to have an agreed and trusted relationship before the application will accept assertions.

By Established trust relationship we mean that both parties must agree on identity metadata, issuer and audience values, and how assertions are validated. This agreement often includes exchanging signing keys or metadata and configuring the relying party so that signatures and claims can be verified. The trust is the conceptual requirement that lets the application decide which tokens or assertions are legitimate.

TLS is incorrect because while it secures the transport channel it does not by itself prove that the assertion was issued by a trusted identity provider. Transport security is complementary but it does not establish the federated trust.

Cloud Identity is incorrect because it is a product or service name and not the fundamental requirement for federation. You can establish a Established trust relationship with many different identity providers or solutions and you do not need a specific product to create the trust.

Public key certificates are incorrect as the primary answer because they are an implementation mechanism used to validate signatures and help implement trust. They are commonly part of how a trust relationship is realized but the underlying necessity on the exam is the actual Established trust relationship.

Focus on the underlying concept of trust when you see federation questions and then consider which technologies implement that trust such as certificates or TLS.

The correct answer is Data classification. This requirement is specifically about assigning sensitivity labels to information and evaluating the potential consequences if that stored information is compromised or exposed.

The classification process organizes information into categories such as public, internal, confidential, and regulated. Those categories guide handling requirements like access controls, encryption, retention, and monitoring and they are used to assess the impact to confidentiality, integrity, and availability if data is lost or exposed.

Cloud Data Loss Prevention is a set of tools and techniques for discovering, scanning, and protecting sensitive data in repositories and in motion. It focuses on detection and mitigation rather than on assigning sensitivity levels or formally evaluating impact, so it does not match the described requirement.

Data ownership refers to who is responsible and accountable for a data asset and for decisions about its use. Ownership is about roles and accountability and it does not itself define sensitivity labels or perform consequence assessments.

Data anonymization is a technique to remove or obfuscate identifiers so that personal data cannot be linked to an individual. It is a privacy protection measure and not the process of labeling data by sensitivity or evaluating potential consequences for stored information.

Look for the words sensitivity and impact in the question. Those keywords usually point to a classification or labeling requirement rather than to a detection, ownership, or anonymization control.

Copyright law is correct because it normally establishes ownership rights for creative digital works such as software and other intangible online assets.

Copyright protects the original expression of ideas when that expression is fixed in a tangible medium of expression and source code and many digital files meet that requirement. Copyright gives the creator exclusive rights to reproduce the work, prepare derivative works, distribute copies, and perform or display the work publicly, and these rights are the basis for ownership and control of creative digital assets.

Trademark law is incorrect because trademarks protect brand identifiers like names, logos, and slogans and they do not establish ownership of the creative expression contained in software or other digital content.

Patent protection is incorrect because patents cover inventions and functional innovations and they do not generally establish ownership of expressive works such as the code itself. Patent rights apply to technical ideas and implementations rather than the creative expression embodied in a program.

Warranties and guarantees are incorrect because those terms describe contractual promises about quality or performance and they do not create the underlying ownership rights in creative works.

When a question asks about ownership of creative code or digital content think copyright first and remember that trademarks and patents protect different kinds of intellectual property.

The correct answer is Nonfunctional security assessment.

A Nonfunctional security assessment is intended to evaluate attributes like scalability, reliability, and performance under operational load. It employs load testing, stress testing, and reliability or resilience testing to observe how the application and its security controls behave under expected and peak conditions. This assessment focuses on system behavior and endurance rather than just finding functional flaws, and that is why it best matches the requirements in the question.

Penetration testing is aimed at finding and exploiting vulnerabilities to demonstrate attack paths and risk, and it is not focused on measuring scalability or runtime performance under load.

Functional security validation verifies that security features such as authentication, authorization, and input validation work correctly and meet requirements, and it does not measure how the system performs under heavy operational load.

Attack surface analysis identifies exposed components and potential entry points to prioritize mitigation and testing, and it helps scope security work rather than measure scalability, reliability, or performance.

When a question asks about scalability, reliability, or performance under load look for a nonfunctional testing approach rather than penetration or functional verification.

Agile methodology is the correct choice because it explicitly prioritizes accepting evolving requirements and gathering frequent stakeholder feedback throughout the project lifecycle.

Agile methodology relies on short iterations and regular feedback loops such as reviews and retrospectives so teams can adapt scope and priorities based on stakeholder input and changing needs.

Waterfall model is incorrect because it uses a linear, phase based approach with requirements usually fixed up front and it does not emphasize continuous stakeholder involvement or frequent requirement changes.

DevOps is incorrect because it focuses on integrating development and operations to improve deployment speed and reliability rather than being a requirements gathering or feedback driven development methodology.

Iterative development is incorrect in this context because although it uses repeated cycles to refine a product it does not by definition center on continuous stakeholder collaboration and evolving requirements the way Agile methodology does.

Look for keywords like evolving requirements and frequent stakeholder feedback and choose the answer that emphasizes iterative delivery and collaboration.

The correct answer is: AMD Secure Memory Encryption (SME)

The correct option is Data movement and storage. A data flow diagram most clearly represents how data moves through a system and where it is stored.

Data flow diagrams model processes, data stores, data flows, and external entities. They show inputs and outputs and the paths that information takes, and this makes them a clear tool for mapping information flow and identifying where data is persisted.

Cloud IAM is focused on identity and access management for cloud resources. A DFD does not specify IAM policies or role bindings, and it is not the primary diagram for showing cloud access control.

Potential attack scenarios can be derived from a DFD during threat modeling, but a DFD itself is a structural representation of data movement and storage. It does not list likely attacks or exploit paths by itself.

User privilege assignments describe which users or roles have which permissions. Those assignments are part of access control documentation and IAM diagrams rather than the core purpose of a data flow diagram.

When a question mentions diagrams ask whether the focus is on how data flows and where it rests or on who can access it. If the emphasis is on movement and storage then choose the option about data flow.

The correct answer is Manual peer inspection of source code by developers.

Manual peer inspection of source code by developers is a human driven process where developers read and discuss each others code to find logic errors, security issues, maintainability problems, and opportunities for improvement. It emphasizes conversation, shared understanding, and judgement rather than automated checks. When people refer to code review in a development context they are normally referring to this practice.

Automated static code analysis tools are automated programs that scan source code for known patterns and common defects. They are useful complements to a review but they do not replace the human judgement and collaborative discussion that a code review implies.

Compilers run with extra diagnostic flags can surface syntax and some semantic issues during the build process. They perform automated checks at compile time but they do not involve peer inspection of the source and so they are not what is typically meant by code review.

Runtime dynamic analysis and fuzz testing tools exercise the running program to find runtime errors, memory issues, and unexpected behaviors. These dynamic testing techniques focus on execution and inputs rather than on human inspection of the source code and therefore they are not the same as a code review.

Watch for keywords like manual and peer when questions ask about code review because those words signal a human driven inspection rather than an automated tool.

The correct answer is Stakeholder communication.

Stakeholder communication would not normally be classified as a security test case because it describes a project or governance activity about sharing information and aligning expectations. Security test cases are concrete procedures and scenarios executed against a system to verify security properties and they focus on testing behavior rather than on communication processes.

Performance and usability testing is not correct because it names testing activities. Performance tests can reveal availability weaknesses and usability tests can reveal insecure workflows and user errors, and both can be framed as security test cases when they target security goals.

Functional testing is not correct because functional tests validate features such as authentication authorization and input validation and these checks are classic security test cases.

User interface testing is not correct because it covers how the system handles user interactions and it can include tests for input validation error handling and exposure of sensitive data, so it is a testing category rather than a communication activity.

When choosing an answer decide whether the option names a testing activity or a project process. Pick the process when the item describes communication or governance rather than an actual test.

The correct answer is Input validation.

Input validation ensures that values received from clients match the expected data types formats and constraints before the application processes them. It is implemented with allow lists type checks length limits and pattern matching on the server so that malformed or malicious data is rejected early and does not reach sensitive logic.

Cloud Audit Logging is a logging and audit capability and it does not itself verify or enforce that client inputs conform to expected types or formats. It is useful for monitoring and forensics after the fact but it does not perform validation.

Error and exception handling concerns how an application responds to runtime failures and it helps maintain stability and avoid information leaks. It does not validate incoming data and therefore cannot guarantee that values match expected types or formats.

Output sanitization is focused on cleaning or encoding data before rendering it to users to prevent cross site scripting and other injection attacks. It does not replace validation because it does not enforce type or format constraints before data is processed.

When a question asks about confirming data types or formats think input validation and favor server side allow lists and explicit patterns rather than relying on logging or output encoding alone.

Specifying clear measurable performance metrics and thresholds is correct. This element gives both the provider and the customer objective criteria to determine whether commitments were met and when to take defined actions.

Measurable metrics and thresholds establish what will be monitored and how success or failure will be judged. They make targets unambiguous so monitoring, reporting, and automated alerts can be implemented and so remedies or corrective actions are triggered consistently.

Using vague language for performance expectations to shield the provider is incorrect because vague wording prevents objective measurement and creates disputes over whether the service met expectations. Vague language defeats the very purpose of an SLA which is to make performance verifiable.

Leaving out specified remedies or financial penalties for missed commitments is incorrect because omitting remedies removes agreed consequences and reduces accountability. Remedies and penalties do not replace measurable metrics but they should complement clear metrics so there is a known response when thresholds are breached.

Neglecting to document escalation paths and communication procedures is incorrect because failing to define escalation and communication hinders timely resolution and coordination. Those items are important operational details but they do not substitute for the objective performance metrics that let both parties determine compliance.

When you see SLA questions choose the option that mentions measurable or objective criteria because those let both parties verify performance and define actions when targets are missed.

The correct answer is An employee uses a proximity badge to enter a locked workstation where files are erased and an entry recording the employee’s identity and the action is retained.

This scenario illustrates auditing as a method of accountability because it attributes the action to a specific individual and preserves a record of what occurred. The retained entry provides the necessary evidence to determine who performed the file erasure and when it happened and that supports investigations and enforcement of policy.

A monitoring system detects a service failure and writes diagnostic events to a system log describes operational logging for fault diagnosis. It records system conditions but it does not necessarily link actions to a responsible person and so it does not demonstrate accountability auditing.

A login attempt is refused and a record of the failed authentication attempt is stored captures authentication events and can support intrusion detection. It primarily documents access attempts rather than proving responsibility for an authorized action such as deleting files and so it is not the best example of accountability auditing.

A background data repair job automatically corrects discovered record inconsistencies describes automated remediation. It performs corrective work without attributing the change to a human actor and so it does not provide the attribution and retained proof that auditing for accountability requires.

When you must identify auditing for accountability look for evidence that ties a specific identity to a specific action and that the record is retained for review.

All ISC2 question come from my CSSLP Udemy Course and certificationexams.pro

The correct option is Psychological acceptability of controls.

The Psychological acceptability of controls principle emphasizes designing security so that staff find protections easy to use and acceptable. When controls are usable and fit normal workflows people are less likely to create insecure workarounds and compliance with policy improves.

Defense in depth refers to deploying multiple layers of security controls to reduce the chance of a single point of failure. It focuses on redundancy and breadth of protection rather than on making controls easy and acceptable for users.

Economy of mechanism principle stresses simplicity of design to minimize flaws and errors. Simplicity helps security but the principle is about reducing complexity in the implementation rather than directly addressing user acceptance.

Complete mediation principle requires that every access to every resource be checked for authorization. This principle is about enforcement and correctness of access controls rather than about usability or making protections acceptable to people.

When a question mentions staff adoption or ease of use look for wording about acceptability or usability and consider the principle of psychological acceptability.

The correct option is To rank and prioritize organizational responses to identified risks.

Qualitative risk assessment classifies likelihood and impact into categorical scales such as high medium and low and uses expert judgment workshops and stakeholder input to produce a prioritized list of risks and recommended responses.

This method is practical for broad cloud environments because it supports decision making when numeric loss data is unavailable or when teams need a rapid way to focus remediation and governance efforts.

To decide which technology platforms to adopt is incorrect because platform selection is a strategic choice that depends on requirements cost compliance and architecture and not primarily on qualitative risk ranking.

To compute estimated monetary loss figures is incorrect because deriving monetary estimates is the domain of quantitative risk assessment and it requires numeric models and loss data such as annualized loss expectancy and exposure factors.

To plan and organize testing activities for deployments is incorrect because testing and deployment planning are operational activities that can be informed by risk priorities but they are not the primary purpose of qualitative risk assessment.

When a question asks about ranking or prioritizing risks think qualitative and when it asks for numeric loss amounts think quantitative.

They define the operations and behaviors the application must perform is correct because system requirements specify what the software must do and how it should behave in order to meet stakeholder needs.

They define the operations and behaviors the application must perform are the primary project artifacts at the start of work because they capture functional requirements, use cases, and acceptance criteria that drive design, development, and testing. Requirements provide the basis for scope, traceability, and validation so teams can ensure the delivered product meets stakeholder expectations.

Cloud Security Command Center is incorrect because it is a specific cloud security product and service rather than a project artifact that defines software functionality. It is a tool for monitoring and managing security in a cloud environment and not a requirements document.

They describe the adversarial and operational environment that could affect the application is incorrect as the primary choice because environmental context and threat information are important inputs but they are not the same as the system requirements that define the application behavior. Those contexts inform requirements and threat models but do not replace the functional and behavioral specifications.

They prescribe the implementation techniques and development steps to be used is incorrect because good system requirements avoid mandating specific implementation details. Prescribing implementation and development processes belongs to design and project planning rather than to the requirements that state what the system must accomplish.

When a question asks about primary project artifacts at the start of software work look for options that describe what the system must do rather than how it will be built or tools used.

The correct answer is To verify that recent code changes do not introduce defects into existing features.

To verify that recent code changes do not introduce defects into existing features is the core purpose of regression testing because the team must retest previously working functionality after updates. Regression tests detect unintended side effects from code changes so that authentication workflows, input validation, access controls, and other security relevant features continue to function as expected.

To use automated scanners to detect vulnerabilities is incorrect because automated scanning is a vulnerability discovery activity and not the main focus of regression testing. Scanners may be used during a regression cycle but they do not define the primary goal.

To confirm that security patches have not reintroduced previously fixed flaws is incorrect because that statement is a narrower case that focuses on reintroduced fixes. Regression testing covers broader verification of existing features after any code change rather than only checking for reintroduced patches.

To validate cryptographic implementations and algorithm usage is incorrect because validating cryptography is a specialized task that requires design review and targeted testing. That activity is separate from regression testing which focuses on functional stability across the application.

When a question contrasts broad functional checks with targeted security tasks pick the option that describes ensuring existing features still work after changes and remember that regression testing is about catching unintended side effects.

The correct option is Validation of the software development process and assurance that security controls are followed.

Validation of the software development process and assurance that security controls are followed is about assessing the practices and governance around development so that security requirements, design reviews, code review policies, change control, and approval checkpoints are actually applied. Security reviews are a process level activity that confirms controls are in place and followed across the SDLC rather than only finding technical faults.

Cloud Security Command Center is a cloud security tool for inventorying and monitoring assets and findings. It is not the primary purpose of performing security reviews during the SDLC because it is an operational product rather than a description of review activities.

Fuzz testing is a technical testing technique that feeds malformed inputs to software to find crashes and memory errors. It can be part of testing, but it does not represent the broader process validation and control assurance that security reviews aim to provide.

Static and dynamic testing of code and runtime behavior refers to technical tests such as static analysis and dynamic application testing. These are useful verification methods, but they focus on code and runtime issues and do not by themselves validate the development process or confirm that required security controls and procedures are being followed.

Look for wording that describes a process or assurance activity when the question asks about reviews. Security reviews usually mean checking controls and compliance across the SDLC rather than a single testing technique.