CCSP Exam Cram DOMAIN 3 Handout
CCSP Exam Cram DOMAIN 3 Handout
Domain 3
Coverage of every topic in
the official exam syllabus!
1 2 3 4 5 6
One lesson for each exam domain
Controls for data confidentiality and integrity like any cloud customer,
but with much broader controls.
Physical environment considerations
CSPs utilize common controls to address these risks.
EXAMPLE
Ensuring that communication lines are not physically
compromised by locating telecommunications equipment
inside a controlled area of the CSP’s building or campus.
Applications
Data Customer is responsible for configuring the VMs,
Runtime virtual network, and guest OS security as if the
Responsible Middleware systems were on-premises
CSP OS
Customer Virtualization CSP provides the tooling to secure the VM
Shared Servers but customer must configure them!
Storage
Networking
IaaS
Network and communication - IaaS
Applications
Data
Runtime
Responsible Middleware
CSP OS
Customer Virtualization
Shared Servers CSP is responsible for configuring the security of
Storage the network, storage, and software for the
Networking physical host
IaaS
CSP owns all physical security
Network and communication - PaaS
TYPE 1
“Bare metal“
VM1 VM2
Hypervisor
Hardware
TYPE 1 TYPE 2
“Bare metal“ “Hosted“
Hypervisor Hypervisor
Hardware Hardware
TYPE 1 TYPE 2
“Bare metal“ “Hosted“
Hypervisor Hypervisor
Hardware Host OS
Hardware
VMware ESXi, KVM
Microsoft Hyper-V VMware Workstation,
Oracle Virtualbox
VIRTUALIZATION RESPONSIBILITIES: HYPERVISORS
TYPE 1 TYPE 2
“Bare metal“ “Hosted“
Hypervisor Hypervisor
Hardware Host OS
Hardware
In the cloud, the customer loses control of the physical medium where
data is stored but retains responsibility for data security and privacy.
STORAGE - customer challenges & responsibilities
Customer challenges and responsibilities
without of control of the physical medium
You interact with the management plane through tools including the
CSP’s cloud portal, PowerShell or other command line, or client SDKs
Separate from and works with the and the .
Cloud Portal. the main web interface for the CSP platform.
Azure portal, AWS Management console, Google Cloud console
Logical design
(e.g., tenant partitioning, access control)
Physical design
(e.g., location, buy or build)
Environmental design
(e.g., Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning (HVAC),
multi-vendor pathway connectivity)
Design Resilient
Logical design
The logical design of a data center is an abstraction
In the now legacy co-location (colo) scenario, customers were
separated at the server rack or cage-level.
In logical data center design in the cloud, customers utilize
software and services provided by the CSP.
The logical design of the cloud infrastructure should :
- create tenant partitioning or isolation
- limit and secure remote access
- monitor the cloud infrastructure
- allow for the patching and updating of systems
Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP): the native remote access protocol for Windows
operating systems.
Secure Shell (SSH): the native remote access protocol for Linux operating
systems, and common for remote management of network devices.
RDP and SSH both support encryption and MFA
Secure Terminal/Console-Based Access: a system for secure local access.
A KVM (keyboard video mouse) system with access controls
Jumpboxes: a bastion host at the boundary of lower and higher security zones.
CSPs offer services for this: Azure Bastion, AWS Transit Gateway
Virtual Clients: software tools that allow remote connection to a VM for use as if
it is your local machine.
e.g. Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) for contractors
Physical design - Build vs buy
Building your own datacenter from scratch and buying an
existing facility each have their advantages and disadvantages
When you move to the public cloud, most of these are CSP
decisions. Customer just chooses which CSP region(s)
There is no security without physical security
Physical Security but in the cloud, this is a CSP responsibility
Due to it’s cloud focus, the CCSP exam spends little time on physical
security, focusing more on aspects of logical security and design.
Datacenter tier standard
HIGHER Availability and uptime are often used
TIER IV: Fault-Tolerant
Site Infrastructure interchangeably, but there is a difference
Maintainable Site
Infrastructure
Availability encompasses availability of the
infrastructure, applications, and services
TIER II: Redundant
Site Infrastructure Generally expressed as a number of 9’s,
such as five nines or 99.999% availability
Maintainable Site
supply that can handle brief power
Infrastructure
outages, as well as sags and spikes
Maintainable Site
Infrastructure
and requires fully redundant infrastructure,
including dual commercial power feeds,
TIER II: Redundant dual backup generators
Site Infrastructure
expected to provide 99.995% availability
(SSAE)
SSAE 18 is an audit standard to enhance the quality and usefulness of
System and Organization Control (SOC) reports.
designed for larger organizations, such as cloud providers
(the cost of a Type 2 report can run $30,000 or more).
SOC-2 Type 1
report that assesses the design of security processes at a specific
point in time.
SOC-2 Type 2
(often written as “Type II”) assesses how effective those controls are
over time by observing operations for six months.
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Risk assessment
(e.g., identification, analysis)
RISK FRAMEWORKS
Several exist that provide processes and procedures for
designing and implementing a risk management framework.
- ISO/IEC 31000:2018, Risk Management Guidelines
- NIST SP 800-37, Guide for Applying the Risk Management
Framework to Federal Information Systems
Assigns a to evaluate
effectiveness of countermeasures
Objective, ensure controls are cost effective
D O M A I N 3 : RISK ASSESSMENT
Risk assessment - IDENTIFICATION
-Business units
-Vendor management
-Privacy
-Information security
ISO/IEC 27001
a framework for policies and procedures that include legal, physical, and technical
controls involved in an organization’s information risk management processes.
Compliance
Privacy data in some jurisdictions cannot be transferred to other
countries, so data dispersion is inappropriate.
Major CSPs have compliance-focused service offerings
General technology risk
Cloud systems are not immune to standard security issues like
cyberattacks.
CSP defenses should be documented and tested, and
customers aware of their configuration responsibilities
Risk types
Different threat actors, ranging from competitors and script kiddies to
criminal syndicates and state actors.
Capabilities depend on tools, experience, and funding.
Other external environmental threats, such as fire and floods, and man-
made threats, such as the accidental deletion of data or users.
Responsibility? Mitigation?
Mitigating risks in this area is the responsibility of the CSP. Customers should
verify the CSP has implemented their own SSDLC to ensure service security.
CLOUD VULNERABILITIES, THREATS, AND ATTACKS
The next risk mitigation tool is encryption, and data should be encrypted at
rest and in-transit.
Storage and database encryption at rest, TLS and VPN in-transit
Ongoing monitoring to
maintain security posture
Audit mechanisms
(e.g. log collection, correlation, packet capture)
Physical and environmental protection
The primary consideration is the site location, as it will have
an impact on both physical and environmental protections.
Cloud data centers share requirements with traditional
colocation providers or individual data centers, including:
– ability to restrict physical access at multiple points
– ensuring a clean and stable power supply
– adequate utilities like water and sewer
– the availability of an adequate workforce
These are customer responsibilities in on-premises
(private) cloud, and CSP responsibility in the public cloud
Physical and environmental protection
The primary consideration is the site location, as it will have
an impact on both physical and environmental protections.
Cloud data centers share requirements with traditional
colocation providers or individual data centers, including:
– ability to restrict physical access at multiple points
– ensuring a clean and stable power supply
– adequate utilities like water and sewer
– the availability of an adequate workforce
Expect less exam focus on physical considerations since
it’s a CSP area of responsibility for public cloud
site selection & facility design
Key elements in site selection and facility design.
300+ miles
System, storage, and communication protection
System and Communication Protection Technology
Encrypt and protect data: Protect systems and services:
✓ at rest ✓ DoS/DDoS
✓ in transit ✓ Boundary (ingress and egress)
✓ in use ✓ Key Management
Security practices People and processes
✓ Automation of configuration
✓ Responsibilities for protecting cloud
systems and services Customer and CSP roles
vary based on the “Shared
✓ Monitoring and maintenance
Responsibility Model”
System, storage, and communication protection
Properly securing information systems can be a difficult task
due to the sheer number of elements that make up a system.
Breaking systems down into components and then applying
security controls can make the overall task more manageable.
One source for controls is NIST Special Publication 800-53, “Security and
Privacy Controls for Information Systems and Organizations”, which
contains a family of controls specific to systems and communications
Identity
MFA
MFA factors and attributes
Authenticator apps from companies like Microsoft and Google generate one-time
passcodes using open standards developed by the Initiative for Open Authentication (OATH).
You’ll hear HMAC and TOTP tokens called OATH tokens with some of these providers.
Push notifications
where the server is pushing down the authentication information to your mobile device.
uses the mobile device app to be able to receive the pushed message and display the
authentication information.
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Conditional authentication
policies in Identity-aaS
You can federate your on-premises environment with Azure Active Directory
(Azure AD) and use this federation for authentication and authorization.
This sign-in method ensures that all user authentication occurs on-
premises.
Allows administrators to implement more rigorous levels of access control.
Certificate authentication, key fob, card token
identity federation (example) may be cloud or on-premises
Facebook Azure AD
idP-A trusts idP-B
idP-B idP-A
shared access
user website
Business requirements
(e.g. Recovery Time Objective (RTO), Recovery Point Objective
(RPO), recovery service level)
SLAs between a company and customers will influence RPO and RTO
Business requirements
measures the compute resources needed
to keep production environments running
during a disaster.
is a percentage measure (0-100%) of how
much computing power you will need
during a disaster
based upon a percentage of computing
used by production environments versus
others, such as development, test, and QA
Answers ‘what needs to be migrated to keep production running?’
Test the
Plan
BCDR Plan Creation, implementation and testing
Design
Based on priorities
Report and Implement
from the business
Revise the Plan
impact analysis (BIA)
Test the
Plan
BCDR Plan Creation, implementation and testing
Design
Testing ensures both
the BCP/DRP function
as expected
Report and Implement
Revise the Plan
AND that people
know their roles and
responsibilities
BCP/DRP should be
Report and Implement
revised as necessary
Revise the Plan
based on test results
In this test, some of the response measures are tested (on non-
critical functions).
THANKS
F O R W A T C H I N G!