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Cloud Security Fundamentals Questions

Core security principles and operational practices for cloud computing environments. Topics include the shared responsibility model and delineation of provider and customer responsibilities, identity and access management basics and least privilege, secure configuration and common cloud misconfigurations, data protection including encryption at rest and encryption in transit, key and secrets management basics, network security and segmentation, secure API design, audit logging, monitoring and alerting, cloud security posture management and automated misconfiguration detection, incident response and forensic readiness in cloud environments, governance, compliance and data residency considerations, strategies to reduce blast radius and prevent privilege escalation, and common cloud specific threats and mitigations. Candidates should be able to discuss trade offs, how to apply controls across major cloud providers, detection and mitigation strategies, and practical examples of securing cloud workloads.

MediumSystem Design
0 practiced
Given this simple architecture: public web load balancer -> autoscaling web tier -> private app tier -> managed database. Design practical security controls at each layer to protect data and credentials. Include network, identity, encryption, and runtime controls and explain why each control is necessary.
HardTechnical
0 practiced
Design an automated detection system to identify potential lateral movement across cloud accounts using identity and network telemetry. Describe the data model, correlation techniques (graph analysis, entity behavior analytics), false positive reduction strategies, and how you would surface high-confidence incidents to SOC analysts.
MediumTechnical
0 practiced
A product team wants to use third-party CI integrations that require cloud credentials. Propose a secure architecture and process for delegating minimal, monitored access to these CI tools, including ephemeral credentials, role assumption patterns, and how to limit scope to a single pipeline or repository.
HardTechnical
0 practiced
Run a ransomware tabletop: you're the technical lead. Production block storage volumes have been encrypted and a ransom note appears in an S3 bucket. Describe the incident command structure you would instantiate, the prioritized technical containment steps you would order immediately, and how you would coordinate with legal, communications, and customer-facing teams.
EasyTechnical
0 practiced
Describe the primary differences between security groups and network ACLs in a cloud virtual network. Provide an example scenario where you would use both together to protect a web application tier and explain the rationale.

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