CompTIA Updated CAS-005 Exam Questions and Answers by sapphire

The first action is to implement continuous and context-based authentication and authorization (A). Traditional authentication validates users only at login, which creates gaps during active sessions. Continuous authentication ensures validation throughout the data access workflow, incorporating contextual factors like device state, geolocation, and behavioral analysis. This directly aligns with audit findings requiring protection by role, identity validation, and action tracking.

Option B improves onboarding and monitoring but does not enforce continuous access control. Option C improves identity federation but does not provide session-by-session validation. Option D secures APIs but is too narrow for organization-wide identity workflows.

CAS-005 stresses Zero Trust and context-aware IAM, making continuous authentication and authorization the top priority.

The best solution to harden a three-tier environment (web, database, and application servers) is to implement microsegmentation on the server VLANs. Here’s why:

Enhanced Security: Microsegmentation creates granular security zones within the data center, allowing for more precise control over east-west traffic between servers. This helps prevent lateral movement by attackers who may gain access to one part of the network.

Isolation of Tiers: By segmenting the web, database, and application servers, the organization can apply specific security policies and controls to each segment, reducing the risk of cross-tier attacks.

Compliance and Best Practices: Microsegmentation aligns with best practices for network security and helps meet compliance requirements by ensuring that sensitive data and systems are properly isolated and protected.

HMAC (Hash-based Message Authentication Code)ensures the integrity and authentication of API requests without exposing static or hard-coded private keys. It uses a secret key and a hash function, preventing replay attacks and tampering. VPNs secure the transport layer, MFA protects user accounts (not API-to-database communications), and DSA is a signature algorithm but does not address hard-coding risk directly.