CCSP Certified Cloud Security Professional in Karachi, Lahore, Islamabad, Pakistan, Dubai

CCSP Certified Cloud Security Professional

The Certified Cloud Security Professional (CCSP) exam is a certification exam designed to test an applicant’s knowledge of the principles of securing cloud-based environments.

It was developed by the International Information Systems Security Certification Consortium, Inc. or (ISC)2 and the Cloud Security Alliance (CSA).

To qualify for this cybersecurity certification, you must pass the exam and have at least five years of cumulative, paid work experience in information technology, of which three years must be in information security, and one year in one or more of the six domains of the CCSP Common Body of Knowledge (CBK).

The CCSP exam is a 125-question, multiple-choice exam with a four-hour time limit. The exam has a total of 1000 possible points and passing requires a score of at least 700. Questions are not equally distributed among the six domains of the exam.

Course Key Learning

ccsp knowledge
You will learn what it takes to become a Cloud Security Professional and the material required to pass the CCSP certification

Course Outline

Module 1: Architectural Concepts & Design Requirements

Understand cloud computing concepts

Cloud computing definitions
Cloud computing roles (e.g., cloud service customer, cloud service provider, cloud service partner, cloud service broker)
Key cloud computing characteristics (e.g., on-demand self-service, broad network access, multi-tenancy, rapid elasticity and scalability, resource pooling, measured service)
Building block technologies (e.g., virtualization, storage, networking, databases, orchestration)

Describe cloud reference architecture

Cloud computing activities
Cloud service capabilities (i.e., application capability types, platform capability types, infrastructure capability types)
Cloud service categories (e.g., Software as a Service (SaaS), Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS), Platform as a Service (PaaS))
Cloud deployment models (e.g., public, private, hybrid, community)
Cloud shared considerations (e.g., interoperability, portability, reversibility, availability, security, privacy, resiliency, performance, governance, maintenance and versioning, service levels and Service Level Agreements (SLA), auditability, regulatory)
Impact of related technologies (e.g., machine learning, artificial intelligence, blockchain, Internet of Things (IoT), containers, quantum computing)

Understand security concepts relevant to cloud computing

Cryptography and key management
Access control
Data and media sanitization (e.g., overwriting, cryptographic erase)
Network security (e.g., network security groups)
Virtualization security (e.g., hypervisor security, container security)
Common threats

Understand design principles of secure cloud computing

Cloud secure data lifecycle
Cloud based Disaster Recovery (DR) and Business Continuity (BC) planning
Cost benefit analysis
Functional security requirements (e.g., portability, interoperability, vendor lock-in)
Security considerations for different cloud categories (e.g., Software as a Service (SaaS), Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS), Platform as a Service (PaaS)

Evaluate cloud service providers

Verification against criteria (e.g., International Organization for Standardization/International Electrotechnical Commission (ISO/IEC) 27017, Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS))
System/subsystem product certifications (e.g., Common Criteria (CC), Federal Information Processing Standard (FIPS) 140-2)

Module 2: Cloud Data Security

Describe cloud data concepts

Cloud data life cycle phases
Data dispersion

Design and implement cloud data storage architectures

Storage types (e.g., long term, ephemeral, raw-disk)
Threats to storage types

Design and apply data security technologies and strategies

Encryption and key management
Hashing
Masking
Tokenization

Data Loss Prevention (DLP)
Data obfuscation
Data de-identification (e.g., anonymization)

Implement data discovery

Structured data
Unstructured data

Implement data classification

Mapping
Labeling
Sensitive data (e.g., Protected Health Information (PHI), Personally Identifiable Information (PII), card holder data)

Design and implement Information Rights Management (IRM)

Objectives (e.g., data rights, provisioning, access models)
Appropriate tools (e.g., issuing and revocation of certificates)

Plan and implement data retention, deletion, and archiving policies

Data retention policies
Data deletion procedures and mechanisms
Data archiving procedures and mechanisms
Legal hold

Design and implement auditability, traceability, and accountability of data events

Definition of event sources and requirement of identity attribution
Logging, storage, and analysis of data events
Chain of custody and non-repudiation

Module 3: Cloud Platform & Infrastructure Security

Comprehend cloud infrastructure components

Physical environment
Network and communications
Compute

Virtualization
Storage
Management plane

Design a secure data center

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)

Analyze risks associated with cloud infrastructure

Risk assessment and analysis
Cloud vulnerabilities, threats and attacks

Virtualization risks
Counter-measure strategies

Design and plan security controls

Physical and environmental protection (e.g., on-premise)
System and communication protection
Virtualization systems protection
Identification, authentication, and authorization in cloud infrastructure
Audit mechanisms (e.g., log collection, packet capture)

Plan Disaster Recovery (DR) and Business Continuity (BC)

Risks related to the cloud environment
Business requirements (e.g., Recovery Time Objective (RTO), Recovery Point Objective (RPO), Recovery Service Level (RSL))
Business Continuity/Disaster Recovery strategy
Creation, implementation and testing of plan

Module 4: Cloud Application Security

Advocate training and awareness for application security

Cloud development basics
Common pitfalls
Common cloud vulnerabilities

Describe the Secure Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC) process

Business requirements
Phases and methodologies

Apply the Secure Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC)

Avoid common vulnerabilities during development
Cloud-specific risks
Quality Assurance

Threat modeling
Software configuration management and versioning

Apply cloud software assurance and validation

Functional testing
Security testing methodologies

Use verified secure software

Approved Application Programming Interfaces (API)
Supply-chain management

Third party software management
Validated open source software

Comprehend the specifics of cloud application architecture

Supplemental security components (e.g., Web Application Firewall (WAF), Database Activity Monitoring (DAM), Extensible Markup Language (XML) firewalls, Application Programming Interface (API) gateway)

Cryptography
Sandboxing
Application virtualization and orchestration

Design appropriate Identity and Access Management (IAM) solutions

Federated identity
Identity providers
Single Sign-On (SSO)

Module 5: Operations

Implement and build physical and logical infrastructure for cloud environment

Hardware specific security configuration requirements (e.g., Basic Input Output System (BIOS) settings for virtualization and Trusted Platform Module (TPM), storage controllers, network controllers)
Installation and configuration of virtualization management tools
Virtual hardware specific security configuration requirements (e.g., network, storage, memory, Central Processing Unit (CPU))
Installation of guest Operating System (OS) virtualization toolsets

Operate physical and logical infrastructure for cloud environment

Configure access control for local and remote access (e.g., Secure Keyboard Video Mouse (KVM), Console-based access mechanisms, Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP))
Secure network configuration (e.g., Virtual Local Area Networks (VLAN), Transport Layer Security (TLS), Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP), Domain Name System (DNS), Virtual Private Network (VPN))
Operating System (OS) hardening through the application of baselines (e.g., Windows, Linux, VMware)
Availability of stand-alone hosts
Availability of clustered hosts (e.g., Distributed Resource Scheduling (DRS), Dynamic Optimization (DO), storage clusters, maintenance mode, high availability)
Availability of guest Operating System (OS)

Manage physical and logical infrastructure for cloud environment

Access controls for remote access (e.g., Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP), Secure Terminal Access, Secure Shell (SSH))
Operating System (OS) baseline compliance monitoring and remediation
Patch management
Performance and capacity monitoring (e.g., network, compute, storage, response time)
Hardware monitoring (e.g., disk, Central Processing Unit (CPU), fan speed, temperature)
Configuration of host and guest Operating System (OS) backup and restore functions
Network security controls (e.g., firewalls, Intrusion Detection Systems (IDS), Intrusion Prevention Systems (IPS), honeypots, vulnerability assessments, network security groups)
Management plane (e.g., scheduling, orchestration, maintenance)

Implement operational controls and standards (e.g., Information Technology Infrastructure Library (ITIL), International Organization for Standardization/International Electrotechnical Commission (ISO/IEC) 20000-1)

Change management
Continuity management
Information security management
Continual service improvement management
Incident management
Problem management

Release management
Deployment management
Configuration management
Service level management
Availability management
Capacity management

Support digital forensics

Forensic data collection methodologies
Evidence management
Collect, acquire and preserve digital evidence

Manage communication with relevant parties

Vendors
Customers
Partners

Regulators
Other stakeholders

Manage security operations

Security Operations Center (SOC)
Monitoring of security controls (e.g., firewalls, Intrusion Detection Systems (IDS), Intrusion Prevention Systems (IPS), honeypots, vulnerability assessments, network security groups)
Log capture and analysis (e.g., Security Information and Event Management (SIEM), log management)
Incident management

Module 6: Legal & Compliance

Articulate legal requirements and unique risks within the cloud environment

Conflicting international legislation
Evaluation of legal risks specific to cloud computing
Legal frameworks and guidelines
eDiscovery (e.g., International Organization for Standardization/International Electrotechnical Commission (ISO/IEC) 27050, Cloud Security Alliance (CSA) Guidance)
Forensics requirements

Understand privacy issues

Difference between contractual and regulated private data (e.g., Protected Health Information (PHI), Personally Identifiable Information (PII))
Country-specific legislation related to private data (e.g., Protected Health Information (PHI), Personally Identifiable Information (PII))
Jurisdictional differences in data privacy
Standard privacy requirements (e.g., International Organization for Standardization/International Electrotechnical Commission (ISO/IEC) 27018, Generally Accepted Privacy Principles (GAPP), General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)

Understand audit process, methodologies, and required adaptations for a cloud environment

Internal and external audit controls
Impact of audit requirements
Identify assurance challenges of virtualization and cloud
Types of audit reports (e.g., Statement on Standards for Attestation Engagements (SSAE), Security Operations Center (SOC), International Standard on Assurance Engagements (ISAE))
Restrictions of audit scope statements (e.g., Statement on Standards for Attestation Engagements (SSAE), International Standard on Assurance Engagements (ISAE))
Gap analysis
Audit planning
Internal Information Security Management System (ISMS)
Internal information security controls system
Policies (e.g., organizational, functional, cloud computing)
Identification and involvement of relevant stakeholders
Specialized compliance requirements for highly regulated industries (e.g., North American Electric Reliability Corporation/Critical Infrastructure Protection (NERC/CIP), Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), Payment Card Industry (PCI))
Impact of distributed Information Technology (IT) model (e.g., diverse geographical locations and crossing over legal jurisdictions)

Understand implications of cloud to enterprise risk management

Assess providers risk management programs (e.g., controls, methodologies, policies)
Difference between data owner/controller vs. data custodian/processor (e.g., risk profile, risk appetite, responsibility)
Regulatory transparency requirements (e.g., breach notification, Sarbanes-Oxley (SOX), General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR))
Risk treatment (i.e., avoid, modify, share, retain)
Different risk frameworks
Metrics for risk management
Assessment of risk environment (e.g., service, vendor, infrastructure)

Understand outsourcing and cloud contract design

Business requirements (e.g., Service Level Agreement (SLA), Master Service Agreement (MSA), Statement of Work (SOW))
Vendor management
Contract management (e.g., right to audit, metrics, definitions, termination, litigation, assurance, compliance, access to cloud/data, cyber risk insurance)
Supply-chain management (e.g., International Organization for Standardization/International Electrotechnical Commission (ISO/IEC) 27036)

Requirements

5 years of working experience in IT
CISSP will be highly advantageous. The CCSP is highly assumptive of the fact that you have extensive knowledge of cybersecurity.