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Question 41.

A security architect is evaluating a new business application. Which activity should occur FIRST to determine the appropriate level of protection?

1. Select an intrusion prevention system
   2. Identify business requirements, assets, threats, and risk
   3. Configure user accounts
   4. Perform final acceptance testing

Correct Answer: 2. Identify business requirements, assets, threats, and risk

Explanation:

Security architecture should begin with an understanding of what the business needs to accomplish, which assets require protection, what threats exist, and how much risk the organization is willing to accept. These factors drive control selection and architecture decisions. Choosing technologies or configuring accounts before understanding the risk context can produce controls that are poorly aligned with business needs. Acceptance testing occurs later, after the system has been designed and implemented.

Question 42.

Which principle BEST ensures that every access request is checked against authorization policy rather than relying on a previous decision?

1. Complete mediation
   2. Data minimization
   3. Defense in depth
   4. Open design

Correct Answer: 1. Complete mediation

Explanation:

Complete mediation requires that access to protected resources be checked each time it is requested rather than relying indefinitely on an earlier authorization decision. This reduces the chance that changed permissions or revoked access are ignored. The principle supports consistent enforcement of access-control policy. Defense in depth concerns multiple layers of security, while data minimization and open design address different architectural objectives.

Question 43.

A security architect is reviewing a system that depends on one firewall for all protection between the internet and critical servers. What is the MAIN concern?

1. The servers may use too much memory
   2. The firewall may reduce user productivity
   3. The architecture creates excessive reliance on a single security control
   4. The application may generate too many logs

Correct Answer: 3. The architecture creates excessive reliance on a single security control

Explanation:

A single firewall can become a critical point of security failure. Defense in depth reduces this risk by combining network controls with host security, strong authentication, application controls, segmentation, monitoring, and other safeguards. If one layer is bypassed or misconfigured, additional layers can still provide protection. Relying on one control creates unnecessary exposure if that mechanism fails.

Question 44.

A company wants its critical application to remain available when one internet service provider fails. Which design is MOST appropriate?

1. Use one larger router
   2. Keep all connections through the same provider
   3. Increase application-server memory
   4. Use redundant network paths through independent providers where practical**

Correct Answer: 4. Use redundant network paths through independent providers where practical

Explanation:

If connectivity through one provider is a critical dependency, using independent network paths reduces the likelihood that a single provider failure will make the service unavailable. Effective redundancy should minimize common points of failure, which may include carriers, physical routes, devices, and facilities. Simply increasing hardware capacity does not address loss of external connectivity.

Question 45.

Which architectural control MOST directly limits an attacker who compromises one application server from reaching unrelated sensitive systems?

1. Network segmentation
   2. Increased storage capacity
   3. Single sign-on
   4. Data compression

Correct Answer: 1. Network segmentation

Explanation:

Network segmentation separates systems according to trust level, function, sensitivity, or business need and restricts communication between those zones. If an attacker compromises an application server, segmentation can prevent or limit lateral movement toward unrelated databases, administrative networks, or critical systems. It is a key containment mechanism and should be combined with host and identity controls for stronger defense in depth.

Question 46.

A security architect is designing privileged access to production systems. Which design BEST improves accountability?

1. Allow administrators to share one generic account
   2. Assign individual privileged identities and log administrative activity
   3. Disable logs to protect administrator privacy
   4. Permit anonymous emergency access

Correct Answer: 2. Assign individual privileged identities and log administrative activity

Explanation:

Individual privileged identities make it possible to associate administrative actions with a specific person. Combined with centralized logging and strong authentication, this improves accountability and supports investigations. Shared accounts weaken traceability because actions cannot easily be attributed to one administrator. Emergency access may be necessary in some environments, but it should still be controlled, identifiable, and auditable.

Question 47.

A proposed system will store regulated personal information. Which consideration should MOST strongly affect the security architecture?

1. Office furniture layout
   2. Developer preference
   3. Legal, regulatory, privacy, and data-protection requirements
   4. Marketing color standards

Correct Answer: 3. Legal, regulatory, privacy, and data-protection requirements

Explanation:

Systems processing regulated personal information must account for applicable privacy and security obligations. These requirements can affect encryption, access control, logging, data retention, geographic processing, breach response, and other architectural decisions. Business objectives and risk also remain important, but regulatory requirements may impose mandatory protections that cannot simply be ignored based on developer preference or operational convenience.

Question 48.

A highly sensitive service should deny access if its authorization engine becomes unavailable. Which design principle does this illustrate?

1. Default allow
   2. Open access
   3. Fail open
   4. Fail secure**

Correct Answer: 4. Fail secure

Explanation:

Fail-secure behavior places a system into a protected state when a security mechanism fails. In an authorization context, that usually means denying access when policy cannot be evaluated reliably. This reduces the risk that failure of the access-control mechanism becomes a path to unauthorized access. Architects must still consider availability, but highly sensitive resources commonly favor protected failure behavior.

Question 49.

Which approach BEST reduces the impact of a compromised cryptographic key?

1. Use controlled key rotation and limit the scope and lifetime of keys
   2. Use one key permanently across all systems
   3. Share private keys through email
   4. Store all keys in application source code

Correct Answer: 1. Use controlled key rotation and limit the scope and lifetime of keys

Explanation:

Limiting key scope and lifetime reduces the amount of data and number of systems affected if a key is compromised. Regular rotation, secure storage, access controls, revocation capability, and appropriate separation of keys are important parts of key management. Reusing one key broadly or storing keys insecurely greatly increases the impact of compromise and weakens otherwise strong cryptographic protection.

Question 50.

An organization requires two separate administrators to authorize a critical firewall-policy change. Which concept is MOST directly represented?

1. Data masking
   2. Dual control
   3. Single sign-on
   4. High availability

Correct Answer: 2. Dual control

Explanation:

Dual control requires participation or approval from more than one authorized individual for a sensitive action. This reduces the likelihood that one person can make a high-impact change without oversight. It is commonly used for cryptographic operations, privileged changes, and other sensitive processes. The concept supports separation of duties by ensuring that critical actions cannot be completed unilaterally.

Question 51.

A security architect is reviewing data flows between an internal application and an external partner. What should be identified FIRST?

1. The color of network diagrams
   2. The partner’s marketing strategy
   3. Trust boundaries, data sensitivity, and required protections
   4. The number of internal help-desk staff

Correct Answer: 3. Trust boundaries, data sensitivity, and required protections

Explanation:

Data crossing organizational or network boundaries may move between different levels of trust. The architect should identify what data is exchanged, how sensitive it is, which systems process it, and where trust changes occur. These factors determine requirements for authentication, encryption, validation, monitoring, and contractual controls. Technical design should follow this risk and trust analysis rather than arbitrary operational details.

Question 52.

A company wants its security design to avoid depending on secrecy of the architecture itself. Which principle does this reflect?

1. Least privilege
   2. Dual control
   3. Fail secure
   4. Open design**

Correct Answer: 4. Open design

Explanation:

Open design means that security should not depend on keeping system design or implementation details secret. Instead, protection should rely on strong controls, cryptographic keys, authentication, authorization, and other mechanisms that remain effective even if the architecture is understood. This principle reduces reliance on security through obscurity and supports designs that can withstand informed scrutiny.

Question 53.

Which factor should an architect consider MOST when deciding where to place security controls in a multi-tier application?

1. Trust boundaries and the sensitivity of data and functions at each tier
   2. The physical color of each server
   3. The age of the development team
   4. User-interface preferences

Correct Answer: 1. Trust boundaries and the sensitivity of data and functions at each tier

Explanation:

Security controls should be placed where they can effectively enforce trust transitions and protect sensitive functions or data. In a multi-tier system, this may include controls between internet-facing, application, database, and administrative zones. Understanding trust boundaries helps determine where authentication, authorization, filtering, encryption, and monitoring are most valuable. Cosmetic or staffing factors do not drive sound security architecture.

Question 54.

A recovery architecture must restore a system within four hours and lose no more than 30 minutes of data. Which statement is correct?

1. RPO is four hours and RTO is 30 minutes
   2. RTO is four hours and RPO is 30 minutes
   3. Both values are four hours
   4. Both values are 30 minutes

Correct Answer: 2. RTO is four hours and RPO is 30 minutes

Explanation:

The recovery time objective, or RTO, defines how quickly the system must be restored after a disruption. In this scenario, the required recovery time is four hours. The recovery point objective, or RPO, defines the maximum acceptable data loss measured in time, which is 30 minutes. These requirements influence architecture choices such as replication, backup frequency, standby capacity, and recovery procedures.

Question 55.

A security architect wants to reduce the risk that a compromised administrator workstation can directly reach every production server. Which control is BEST?

1. Give the workstation more memory
   2. Allow unrestricted production access
   3. Use a controlled privileged-access path or dedicated administrative network
   4. Disable endpoint monitoring

Correct Answer: 3. Use a controlled privileged-access path or dedicated administrative network

Explanation:

Privileged administration should be isolated from ordinary user activity where feasible. Dedicated administrative workstations, jump hosts, restricted management networks, strong authentication, and monitoring can reduce the attack surface for privileged access. If a normal workstation is compromised, segmentation can help prevent direct access to production management interfaces. Unrestricted connectivity increases risk rather than reducing it.

Question 56.

An organization wants to protect sensitive data from exposure if physical storage media are stolen. Which control is MOST appropriate?

1. Increase network bandwidth
   2. Use stronger user-interface passwords only
   3. Disable data backups
   4. Encrypt data at rest with secure key management**

Correct Answer: 4. Encrypt data at rest with secure key management

Explanation:

Encryption at rest can protect stored information if disks, backups, or other media are stolen or accessed outside normal controls. The effectiveness of encryption depends on strong algorithms and secure key management. Keys should be stored separately or otherwise protected so theft of the media does not also expose the decryption keys. Password policy alone does not adequately protect raw storage media.

Question 57.

Which architectural technique BEST reduces attack surface?

1. Remove unnecessary services, ports, interfaces, and privileges
   2. Enable all services by default
   3. Place every system on the internet
   4. Give all users administrative rights

Correct Answer: 1. Remove unnecessary services, ports, interfaces, and privileges

Explanation:

Attack surface consists of the interfaces and capabilities that attackers may exploit. Disabling unnecessary services, closing unused ports, minimizing exposed interfaces, and restricting privileges reduce the number of potential attack paths. This is a fundamental hardening principle. Enabling unnecessary functionality or granting broad access increases exposure and makes systems more difficult to defend.

Question 58.

A security architect wants to ensure that an external service provider’s security controls remain effective throughout the contract period. What is MOST important?

1. Rely only on the provider’s initial sales presentation
   2. Define security requirements, monitoring, reporting, and assessment rights contractually
   3. Avoid documenting responsibilities
   4. Assume the provider will follow internal policies automatically

Correct Answer: 2. Define security requirements, monitoring, reporting, and assessment rights contractually

Explanation:

Third-party security must be governed over time, not only during initial selection. Contracts should clearly define security responsibilities, required controls, incident notification, reporting, audit or assessment rights, data handling, and other relevant obligations. Ongoing monitoring helps verify that the provider continues meeting requirements. Unwritten assumptions create ambiguity and increase the risk of control gaps.

Question 59.

What is the PRIMARY reason to use security architecture standards across multiple projects?

1. Force every application to use identical technology
   2. Eliminate all design decisions
   3. Promote consistent, risk-aligned security requirements and reduce repeated design errors
   4. Remove the need for architecture review

Correct Answer: 3. Promote consistent, risk-aligned security requirements and reduce repeated design errors

Explanation:

Architecture standards provide reusable security expectations and design patterns that help projects implement controls consistently. They can reduce duplicated effort, improve interoperability, and prevent common weaknesses from being repeatedly introduced. Standards should still allow justified exceptions where business or technical requirements differ. They support rather than eliminate architecture reviews and risk-based decision-making.

Question 60.

Which practice BEST supports continuous improvement of enterprise security architecture?

1. Freeze the architecture permanently after initial approval
   2. Review architecture only after severe incidents
   3. Ignore changes in business and technology
   4. Periodically reassess risks, architecture assumptions, control effectiveness, and emerging requirements**

Correct Answer: 4. Periodically reassess risks, architecture assumptions, control effectiveness, and emerging requirements

Explanation:

Security architecture must evolve as business processes, threats, technologies, regulations, and organizational priorities change. Periodic reassessment helps identify assumptions that are no longer valid, controls that are ineffective, and new risks that require design changes. Continuous improvement keeps architecture aligned with the organization rather than allowing it to become outdated after initial implementation.