DOP-C02 Question 408
Select 3You are tasked with auditing the security posture of an AWS environment for a client. During the review, you find the following issues: (1) An S3 bucket with public access enabled, (2) AWS access keys hardcoded into an application, (3) A load balancer not enforcing HTTPS traffic, and (4) EC2 instances without an IAM role attached. Which of these findings should you prioritize as critical cloud security threats to address immediately?
- A
S3 bucket with public access enabled
- B
AWS access keys hardcoded into an application
- C
A load balancer not enforcing HTTPS traffic
- D
EC2 instances without an IAM role attached
Show answer and explanation
Correct answers: A, B, C
Explanation
The most critical cloud security threats in this scenario are the S3 bucket with public access enabled, hardcoded AWS access keys, and the load balancer not enforcing HTTPS. These issues expose the environment to potential data breaches, unauthorized access, and insecure communication over the network. EC2 instances without an IAM role attached are a concern but do not pose an immediate security risk compared to the others.
- A. Correct.
S3 buckets with public access enabled are a critical security risk because they can expose sensitive data to the public internet, leading to data breaches or unauthorized access.
- B. Correct.
Hardcoding AWS access keys into an application is a severe security threat as it increases the risk of key exposure, which could allow unauthorized users to access or modify AWS resources.
- C. Correct.
A load balancer not enforcing HTTPS traffic can result in insecure web traffic, making the application vulnerable to man-in-the-middle attacks, data interception, and eavesdropping.
- D. Incorrect.
While EC2 instances without an IAM role attached limit the ability to manage permissions via AWS Identity and Access Management, this is not as immediately critical as the other issues since it does not directly expose data or services to external threats.