CCZT Cloud Security Alliance Certificate of Competence in Zero Trust (CCZT) Free Practice Exam Questions (2025 Updated)

Optimal compliance posture in a Zero Trust environment is primarily achieved through rigorous authentication and authorization of all networked assets. Zero Trust operates on the principle of "never trust, always verify," which necessitates robust authentication mechanisms to verify the identity of users and devices. Following authentication, authorization ensures that each authenticated entity has explicit permission to access only the resources necessary for its function, aligning with the principle of least privilege. These practices ensure a secure and compliant posture by minimizing the attack surface and reducing the risk of unauthorized access.

The first step that organizations should take to strengthen access requirements and protect their resources from unauthorized access by potential cyber threats is to understand and identify the data and assets that need to be protected. This step involves conducting a data and asset inventory and classification, which helps to determine the value, sensitivity, ownership, and location of the data and assets. By understanding and identifying the data and assets that need to be protected, organizations can define the appropriate access policies and controls based on the Zero Trust principles of never trust, always verify, and assume breach.

References = Certificate of Competence in Zero Trust (CCZT) - Cloud Security Alliance, Zero Trust Training (ZTT) - Module 2: Data and Asset Classification

SOAR is a collection of software programs developed to bolster an organization’s cybersecurity posture. SOAR tools can automate the response to security events and incidents by executing predefined workflows or playbooks, which can include tasks such as alert triage, threat detection, containment, mitigation, and remediation. SOAR tools can also orchestrate the integration of various security tools and data sources, and provide centralized dashboards and reporting for security operations.

References =

Certificate of Competence in Zero Trust (CCZT) prepkit, page 23, section 3.2.2

Security Orchestration, Automation and Response (SOAR) - Gartner

Security Automation: Tools, Process and Best Practices - Cynet, section “What are the different types of security automation tools?”

Introduction to automation in Microsoft Sentinel

Business continuity and disaster recovery are the activities of the ZT implementation preparation phase that ensure the resiliency of the organization’s operations in the event of disruption. Business continuity refers to the process of maintaining or restoring the essential functions of the organization during and after a crisis, such as a natural disaster, a cyberattack, or a pandemic. Disaster recovery refers to the process of recovering the IT systems, data, and infrastructure that support the business continuity. ZT implementation requires planning and testing the business continuity and disaster recovery strategies and procedures, as well as aligning them with the ZT policies and controls.

References =

Zero Trust Planning - Cloud Security Alliance, section “Monitor & Measure”

Zero Trust architecture: a paradigm shift in cybersecurity - PwC, section “Continuous monitoring and improvement”

Zero Trust Implementation, section “Outline Zero Trust Architecture (ZTA) implementation steps”

Device validation helps establish a trusted connection based on certificate-based keys in a ZT deployment. Device validation is the process of verifying the identity and posture of the devices that request access to the protected resources. Device validation relies on the use of certificates, which are digital credentials that bind the device identity to a public key. Certificates are issued by a trusted authority and can be used to authenticate the device and encrypt the communication. Device validation helps to ensure that only healthy and compliant devices can access the resources, and that the connection is secure and confidential.

References =

Certificate of Competence in Zero Trust (CCZT) prepkit, page 15, section 2.2.3

Zero Trust and Windows device health - Windows Security, section “Device health attestation on Windows”

Devices and zero trust | Google Cloud Blog, section “In a zero trust environment, every device has to earn trust in order to be granted access.”

Multifactor authentication is a method of validating the identity of an entity by requiring two or more factors, such as something the entity knows (e.g., password, PIN), something the entity has (e.g., token, smart card), or something the entity is (e.g., biometric, behavioral). Multifactor authentication enhances the security of Zero Trust Architecture (ZTA) by reducing the risk of identity compromise and unauthorized access.

References = Certificate of Competence in Zero Trust (CCZT) - Cloud Security Alliance, Zero Trust Training (ZTT) - Module 4: Identity and Access Management

A comprehensive catalogue of all transactions, dependencies, and services with associated IDs is a potential outcome of an effective ZT implementation because it helps to map the data flows and interactions among the assets and entities in the ZTA. This catalogue enables the ZTA to enforce granular and dynamic policies based on the context and attributes of the transactions, dependencies, and services. It also facilitates the monitoring and auditing of the ZTA activities and performance.

References = Certificate of Competence in Zero Trust (CCZT) - Cloud Security Alliance, Zero Trust Training (ZTT) - Module 3: ZTA Architecture and Components

ABAC is an access control method that uses attributes of the requester, the resource, the environment, and the action to evaluate and enforce policies. ABAC allows for fine-grained and dynamic access control based on the context of the request, rather than predefined roles or privileges. ABAC is suitable for SaaS and PaaS, where the features within a service may vary depending on the customer’s needs, preferences, and subscription level. ABAC can help implement ZT by enforcing the principle of least privilege and verifying every request based on multiple factors.

References =

Attribute-Based Access Control (ABAC) Definition

General Access Control Guidance for Cloud Systems

A Guide to Secure SaaS Access Control Within an Organization

In the context of a Software-Defined Perimeter (SDP) that incorporates Single Packet Authorization (SPA), after successful authentication and authorization, the client typically generates an SPA packet and sends it to the accepting host. This process involves the client creating a specially crafted packet that is designed to be recognized by the accepting host's SDP gateway. Upon receiving and validating the SPA packet, the gateway allows the client to establish a connection to the designated services or resources. This mechanism ensures that only authorized clients can initiate connections, enhancing security by preventing unauthorized access.

In a ZTA, automation and orchestration can increase security by using the following means:

Infrastructure as code (laC): laC is a practice of managing and provisioning IT infrastructure through code, rather than manual processes or configuration tools1. laC can increase security by enabling consistent, repeatable, and scalable deployment of ZTA components, such as policies, gateways, firewalls, and micro-segments2. laC can also facilitate compliance, auditability, and change management, as well as reduce human errors and configuration drifts3.

Identity lifecycle management: Identity lifecycle management is a process of managing the creation, modification, and deletion of user identities and their access rights throughout their lifecycle4. Identity lifecycle management can increase security by ensuring that users have the appropriate level of access to resources at any given time, based on the principle of least privilege5. Identity lifecycle management can also automate the provisioning and deprovisioning of user accounts, enforce strong authentication and authorization policies, and monitor and audit user activity and behavior6.

References =

What is Infrastructure as Code? | Cloudflare

Zero Trust Architecture: Infrastructure as Code

Infrastructure as Code: Security Best Practices

What is Identity Lifecycle Management? | One Identity

Zero Trust Architecture: Identity and Access Management

Identity Lifecycle Management: A Zero Trust Security Strategy

In a ZTA, policies should be created in the control plane, which is the logical component that defines and manages the policies for accessing resources. The control plane consists of policy entities, such as policy administrators, policy engines, and policy decision points, that are responsible for crafting, maintaining, evaluating, and enforcing the policies1. The control plane interacts with the data plane, which is the logical component that handles the data transmission and processing, and the network, which is the physical or virtual component that provides the connectivity and transport for the data plane1. The endpoint is the device or system that requests or provides access to a resource1.

References =

Zero Trust Architecture | NIST

A critical product of the gap analysis process is the implementation’s requirements, which are the specifications and criteria that define the desired outcomes, capabilities, and functionalities of the ZTA. The implementation’s requirements are derived from the gap analysis, which identifies the current state, the target state, and the gaps between them. The implementation’s requirements help to guide the design, development, testing, and deployment of the ZTA, as well as the evaluation of its effectiveness and alignment with the business objectives and needs.

References =

Zero Trust Planning - Cloud Security Alliance, section “Scope, Priority, & Business Case”

The Zero Trust Journey: 4 Phases of Implementation - SEI Blog, section “Second Phase: Assess”

Planning for a Zero Trust Architecture: A Planning Guide for Federal …, section “Gap Analysis”

In a ZTA, the logical combination of both the policy engine (PE) and policy administrator (PA) is called the policy decision point (PDP). The PE is the component that evaluates the policies and the contextual data collected from various sources and generates an access decision. The PA is the component that establishes or terminates the communication between a subject and a resource based on the access decision. The PDP communicates with the policy enforcement point (PEP), which enforces the access decision on the resource.

References =

Certificate of Competence in Zero Trust (CCZT) prepkit, page 14, section 2.2.2

Zero Trust Architecture Project - NIST Computer Security Resource Center, slide 9

What Is a Zero Trust Security Framework? | Votiro, section “The Policy Engine and Policy Administrator”

Zero Trust Frameworks Architecture Guide - Cisco, page 4, section “Policy Decision Point”

Software-Defined Perimeter (SDP) features such as server isolation, single packet authorization (SPA), and dynamic drop-all firewalls are designed to protect against a range of threats, including Denial of Service (DoS) and Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks. These SDP capabilities help to shield servers from unwanted or malicious traffic by ensuring that only authenticated and authorized users can establish connections. By minimizing the server's exposure to the internet and reducing its attack surface, SDP effectively mitigates the risk of DoS/DDoS attacks, which aim to overwhelm servers with excessive traffic, thereby ensuring the availability and reliability of critical services within a Zero Trust framework.

The third step in the SDP onboarding process is to onboard and authenticate the initiating hosts, which are the clients that request access to the protected resources. The initiating hosts connect to and authenticate with the SDP gateway, which acts as an accepting host and a proxy for the protected resources. The SDP gateway verifies the identity and posture of the initiating hosts and grants them access to the resources based on the policies defined by the SDP controller.

References =

Certificate of Competence in Zero Trust (CCZT) prepkit, page 21, section 3.1.2

6 SDP Deployment Models to Achieve Zero Trust | CSA, section “Deployment Models Explained”

Software-Defined Perimeter (SDP) and Zero Trust | CSA, page 7, section 3.1

Data sources are the ZT element that provide information that providers can use to keep policies dynamically updated. Data sources are the inputs that feed the policy engine and the policy administrator with the relevant data and context about the entities, resources, transactions, and environment in the ZTA. Data sources help to inform the policy decisions and actions based on the current state and conditions of the ZTA. Data sources can include identity providers, device management systems, threat intelligence feeds, network monitoring tools, etc.

References = Certificate of Competence in Zero Trust (CCZT) - Cloud Security Alliance, Zero Trust Training (ZTT) - Module 3: ZTA Architecture and Components

In a Zero Trust Architecture, the Policy Decision Point (PDP) is the primary entity responsible for crafting and maintaining policies, especially those that enforce the principle of least privilege for network access. The PDP evaluates all relevant information about an access request—including the identity of the requester, the context of the request, and the requested resource—and makes a decision on whether to grant or deny access based on predefined policies. This process ensures that access rights are strictly aligned with the necessity of the role and the minimum access required to perform a function, thereby adhering to the principle of least privilege​​.