Cloud Computing Software Security Fundamentals
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Questions and Answers

What does confidentiality in cloud systems primarily aim to prevent?

  • Unauthorized access to software resources
  • Accidental data loss during transmission
  • Malicious software attacks on cloud infrastructure
  • Intentional or unintentional unauthorized disclosure of information (correct)

    • Which of the following is NOT directly related to confidentiality in cloud systems?

  • Traffic analysis
  • Patents and copyrights
  • User experience design (correct)
  • Covert channels

    • How can traffic analysis breach confidentiality?

  • By sending misleading traffic to confuse attackers
  • By analyzing patterns of message volume and timing (correct)
  • By utilizing stronger encryption algorithms
  • By hacking the cloud infrastructure directly

    • Which method is commonly used to maintain confidentiality of bank transactions?

    <p>Encryption of data</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is a covert channel in the context of cloud security?

    <p>An unauthorized path enabling unintended information exchange</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Which factor is essential for maintaining information security alongside confidentiality?

    <p>Auditing</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What role does encrypted messaging play in confidentiality?

    <p>It complicates unauthorized access to information</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Inference in database security can lead to which of the following?

    <p>Exposure of protected information through lower-level data</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What does the CIA triad represent in cloud software assurance?

    <p>Confidentiality, Integrity, Availability</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Which property is NOT required for software to be considered secure according to DACS?

    <p>Compliance with legal standards</p> Signup and view all the answers

    How does using SaaS in cloud computing affect secure software development for the consumer?

    <p>It reduces the consumer's responsibility for secure software development.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Which of the following is an example of the 'dependable' property in secure software?

    <p>Software that operates correctly during an attack.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is the primary focus of software assurance as defined by the U.S. Department of Defense?

    <p>Maintaining confidence in the software's intended function.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    In the context of software security, what does 'survivability' refer to?

    <p>The capability to withstand attacks and recover quickly.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Which of the following best summarizes 'trustworthiness' in secure software?

    <p>Software must be free of all known vulnerabilities.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What does the 'resilience' aspect of cloud security design principles emphasize?

    <p>Tolerance to attacks and quick recovery.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is the primary focus of the Identity and Authentication principle?

    <p>To restrict access to only authenticated and authorized identities</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Which aspect is emphasized in the External Interface Protection principle?

    <p>To secure all less-trusted or external interfaces</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is a critical requirement of the Secure Service Administration principle?

    <p>To adhere to industry best practices in design and management</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is the key function of the Audit Information and Alerting for Customers principle?

    <p>To identify security incidents and provide detailed audit logs</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What does the Secure Use of the Service principle primarily support?

    <p>Helping users fulfill their data protection obligations</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What does the principle of integrity in cloud information refer to?

    <p>Preventing unauthorized modifications to data</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Which of the following is a threat against the availability of cloud resources?

    <p>Denial-of-service attack</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is the role of authentication in cloud security services?

    <p>To verify user identity</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What does external consistency in data integrity ensure?

    <p>The bank’s records match the user’s statement</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Once authentication is established, what determines how much access a user has?

    <p>Authorization levels</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Which of the following options represents the opposite of confidentiality in cloud security?

    <p>Disclosure</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What does availability guarantee in cloud computing?

    <p>Systems are working as needed</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Which principle does NOT contribute to cloud information integrity?

    <p>Unauthorized data can be altered</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What does the shared responsibility model in cloud computing imply for security of the cloud?

    <p>The vendor controls the host operating system and virtualization layer.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Which of the following is a customer's responsibility when ensuring security in the cloud?

    <p>Configuring firewalls and security controls for the guest OS.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Which of the following best mitigates threats to confidentiality in the cloud?

    <p>Implementing strong password policies.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is a common threat to data integrity in cloud environments?

    <p>Malicious manipulation of database records.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Which of the following mitigations is effective against threats to data availability?

    <p>Network load balancers.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is the first step in threat identification in cloud computing?

    <p>Setting system alarms for abnormal behavior.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    How can machine learning algorithms assist in cloud security?

    <p>By flagging suspicious system events.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Which of these is NOT an example of a threat to confidentiality?

    <p>Denial of service attacks affecting service uptime.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is the main purpose of the separation between customers in cloud services?

    <p>To ensure no malicious user can impact another user's data</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Which aspect is NOT a focus of the governance framework established by the service provider?

    <p>Monitoring third-party supply chain activities</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What combination of practices is emphasized in operational security for preventing attacks?

    <p>Vulnerability management, protective monitoring, and incident management</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is crucial regarding personnel security when service provider personnel access data?

    <p>Robust technical measures should be implemented to audit their actions</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Which of the following best describes secure development in cloud services?

    <p>Minimizing security threats through careful design and development</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What should the service provider ensure regarding its supply chain?

    <p>It complies with the organization's security standards</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is a key component of secure user management in cloud services?

    <p>Implementing role-based access controls</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Which statement about security controls throughout the service's lifecycle is incorrect?

    <p>They can be disregarded once initial deployment is complete</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Study Notes

    Cloud Computing Software Security Fundamentals

    • Cloud software security is crucial, especially with Software as a Service (SaaS). The responsibility for secure software development now lies with the cloud provider.

    • Software Assurance, as defined by the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD), is the confidence level that software functions as intended and is free from vulnerabilities. The Data and Analysis Center for Software (DACS) specifies three key properties for secure software: dependability, trustworthiness, and survivability.

    Cloud Information Security Objectives

    • CIA Triad: Confidentiality, integrity, and availability are essential pillars of cloud software assurance.

    • Confidentiality: Protecting sensitive information from unauthorized access. Crucial aspects include intellectual property rights, covert channels (hidden communication paths), traffic analysis, and inference (deducing sensitive data from publicly available information). Encryption is key to protect data in transit.

    • Integrity: Maintaining the accuracy and trustworthiness of data. Modifications by unauthorized users or processes must be prevented. Important aspects are internal and external data consistency (data consistency between systems and across different views).

    • Availability: Ensuring reliable and timely access to cloud data and resources by authorized personnel. System functionality, security service operation, and resilience against denial-of-service attacks are crucial aspects. The reverse of CIA (confidentiality, integrity, and availability), is disclosure, alteration, and destruction.

    Cloud Security Services

    • Authentication: Verifying user identities and establishing their claimed identities (who they say they are).

    • Authorization: Defining the rights and privileges granted to individuals or processes, determining the extent of their access to resources and information.

    • Auditing: Monitoring and recording activities. The audit trail or logs contain records of all processing activities in the system, helping to trace the origin of transactions and follow backward from reports/records. This encompasses activities such as who processed the transaction, the date/time of the transaction, the terminal used, along with security events related to transactions.

    • Accountability: Determining accountable individuals and actions within the cloud system. Tracking who performed specific actions (or denying accountability). Audit logs and trails directly support this characteristic.

    Threat Identification in Cloud

    • Cloud security leverages technologies and techniques to protect data, applications, and infrastructure. Cloud service providers use a shared responsibility model, dividing security concerns between the provider and the customer as cloud users.

    • Stage 1: Monitoring Data: Systems should identify deviation from typical behaviour, which then triggers alarms and initiates monitoring by security experts. This can utilize machine learning for efficient event flagging.

    • Stage 2: Gaining Visibility: Identifying the source of the threat using tools. AWS CloudTrail is an example of a logging service that records API calls, helping trace activity and find compromised users.

    • Stage 3: Managing Access: Identifying and restricting access by malicious actors (hackers) and wiping out related spam/malicious activity. AWS IAM (Identity and Access Management) can be used for granular management of permissions and access controls.

    Cloud Security Design Principles

    • Principle 1: Protection of Data in Transit: Secure the movement of data via encryption, service authentication, and network security.

    • Principle 2: Asset Protection and Resilience: Safeguard data and systems, encompassing compliance with laws and resilience against loss, damage, and seizure using encryption and data center security.

    • Principle 3: Separation Between Customers: Implement security boundaries to prevent interactions between customers.

    • Principle 4: Governance Framework: Establish security governance that ensures continuous security improvement through the service lifespan.

    • Principle 5: Operational Security: Methods to protect from external attacks (malicious actors) and internal threats. Includes protective monitoring, configuration/change management and incident management.

    • Principle 6: Personnel Security: Management of personnel with access to data and systems, using comprehensive technical measures.

    • Principle 7: Secure Development: Cloud services are designed, developed, and deployed to mitigate security threats using a strong software development lifecycle.

    • Principle 8: Supply Chain Security: Ensuring the security of the supply chain to customer data and services. The security measures used by the supplier should match the customer's security standards.

    • Principle 9: Secure User Management: Tools that enable secure user access management, preventing unauthorized access to resources and applications. Implements role-based access control for data access control.

    • Principle 10: Identity and Authentication: Restrict access to service interfaces for authenticated and authorized identities.

    • Principle 11: External Interface Protection: Secure external APIs, web consoles, and command lines.

    • Principle 12: Secure Service Administration: A secure design, implementation, and management for the provider's administrative systems, complying with industry best practices.

    • Principle 13: Audit Information and Alerting for Customers: Providing audit logs and alert mechanisms in case of attempted attacks or security breaches.

    • Principle 14: Secure Use of the Service: Cloud providers aid user in maintaining compliance with security obligations, by enabling secure use.

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    Related Documents

    CSNW3204 Cloud Computing Fundamentals PDF

    Description

    This quiz covers the fundamentals of cloud software security, focusing on the responsibilities of cloud providers in secure software development. Explore key concepts such as the CIA Triad, Software Assurance, and the essential properties needed for secure software in a cloud environment.

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