Correct Answer: A

Explanation: Vendor lock-in is a situation where a customer becomes dependent on a single cloud service provider (CSP) and cannot easily switch to another vendor without substantial cost, technical incompatibility, or legal constraints1. Vendor lock-in is a risk that is most likely to be accepted as a result of transferring business to a single CSP, because it may offer some benefits such as lower prices, higher performance, or better integration. However, vendor lock-in also has some drawbacks, such as reduced flexibility, increased dependency, and limited innovation2. Therefore, customers should carefully weigh the pros and cons of vendor lock-in before choosing a CSP and try to avoid or mitigate it by using open standards, multi-cloud strategies, or contractual agreements3. References: What is vendor lock-in? | Vendor lock-in and cloud computing; What Is Cloud Vendor Lock-In (And How To Break Free)? - CAST AI; CompTIA Cloud Essentials

+ CLO- 002 Study Guide, Chapter 3: Cloud Computing Concepts, page 97.

Correct Answer: A

Explanation: An incident report is a document that summarizes the details of a security breach, such as the cause, impact, response, and lessons learned. It is expected from a security consultant who has been hired to investigate a data breach of a private cloud instance, as it provides a clear and concise account of what happened and how to prevent or mitigate future incidents. An incident report is also useful for communicating with stakeholders, regulators, customers, and other parties who may be affected by the breach. Application scan results are the output of a tool that scans an application for vulnerabilities, such as SQL injection, cross-site scripting, or broken authentication. They are not expected from a security consultant who has been hired to investigate a data breach of a private cloud instance, as they are more relevant for the development and testing phases of the application lifecycle. Application scan results may help identify potential weaknesses in the application, but they do not provide a comprehensive analysis of the breach. A request for information is a document that solicits information from vendors or service providers, such as their capabilities, pricing, or references. It is not expected from a security consultant who has been hired to investigate a data breach of a private cloud instance, as it is more relevant for the procurement and evaluation phases of the cloud service lifecycle. A request for information may help compare different cloud service options, but it does not provide a detailed report of the breach. A risk register is a document that records the risks associated with a project or an organization, such as their likelihood, impact, mitigation strategies, and status. It is not expected from a security consultant who has been hired to investigate a data breach of a private cloud instance, as it is more relevant for the risk management and governance phases of the cloud service lifecycle. A risk register may help identify and prioritize the risks that need to be addressed, but it does not provide a specific report of the breach. References: CompTIA Cloud Essentials+ CLO-002 Study Guide, Chapter 5: Security in the Cloud, Section 5.3: Incident Response, page 196 CompTIA Cloud Essentials+ CLO-002 Study Guide, Chapter 4: Cloud Service Management, Section 4.1: Cloud Service Lifecycle, page 145 CompTIA Cloud Essentials+ CLO-002 Study Guide, Chapter 2: Cloud Concepts, Section 2.4: Cloud Service Models, page 63

Correct Answer: D

Explanation: According to the CompTIA Cloud Essentials objectives and documents, sandboxing is the best option for the DevOps team that wants to document the upgrade steps for its public database solution. Sandboxing is a technique that creates a virtual environment that is isolated from the production systems and allows the team to replicate multiple installations without affecting the real data or applications. Sandboxing is useful for testing, debugging, and experimenting with new features or configurations in a safe and controlled way. Sandboxing can also help the team to identify and resolve any potential issues or errors before deploying the upgrade to the production environment. The other options are not as suitable for the team's needs. Containerization is a method of packaging software code with the necessary dependencies and libraries to run it on any platform or cloud. Containerization is beneficial for creating portable and scalable applications that can run consistently across different environments. However, containerization does not provide a dedicated virtual environment that is separate from the production systems, nor does it allow the team to replicate multiple installations of the same software. Cold storage is a type of data storage that is used for infrequently accessed or archived data. Cold storage is typically cheaper and slower than hot storage, which is used for frequently accessed or active data. Cold storage is not relevant for the team's need to document the upgrade steps for its public database solution, as it does not involve data storage or access. Infrastructure as code is a practice of managing and provisioning cloud infrastructure using code or scripts, rather than manual processes or graphical user interfaces. Infrastructure as code is advantageous for automating and standardizing the deployment and configuration of cloud resources, such as servers, networks, or storage. However, infrastructure as code does not provide a dedicated virtual environment that is separate from the production systems, nor does it allow the team to replicate multiple installations of the same software. References: 1, 2, 3, 4

Correct Answer: A

Explanation: Avoidance is a risk response technique that involves changing the project plan to eliminate the risk or protect the project objectives from its impact. Avoidance can be done by modifying the scope, schedule, cost, or quality of the project. Avoidance is usually the most effective way to deal with a risk, but it may not always be possible or desirable. In this case, the cloud customer is transferring all of its cold storage data to servers in a safer geographic region, which means they are changing the location of their data storage to avoid the risk of a natural disaster affecting their data. This way, they are eliminating the possibility of losing their data due to a natural disaster in their original region. This is an example of avoidance as a risk response technique. References: CompTIA Cloud Essentials+ CLO-002 Study Guide, Chapter 4: Cloud Security, Section 4.2: Cloud Security Concepts, Page 153. 5 Risk Response Strategies ProjectEngineer1

Correct Answer: B

Explanation: According to the CompTIA Cloud Essentials objectives and documents, SaaS, or Software as a Service, is the best option for describing a cloud-hosted application in which the end user only creates user access and configures options. SaaS is a cloud service model that delivers and manages software applications over the internet, without requiring the end user to install, update, or maintain any software or hardware on their own devices. SaaS applications are typically accessed through a web browser or a mobile app, and the end user only pays for the usage or subscription of the service. SaaS providers are responsible for the infrastructure, platform, security, and maintenance of the software applications, and the end user only needs to create user access and configure options according to their preferences and needs. SaaS applications are usually designed for specific purposes or functions, such as email, collaboration, CRM, ERP, or accounting. The other service models are not as suitable for describing a cloud-hosted application in which the end user only creates user access and configures options. MaaS, or Monitoring as a Service, is a type of cloud service that provides monitoring and management of cloud resources and services, such as performance, availability, security, or compliance. MaaS is not a cloud-hosted application, but rather a cloud service that supports other cloud applications. PaaS, or Platform as a Service, is a cloud service model that delivers and manages the hardware and software resources to develop, test, and deploy applications through the cloud. PaaS provides the end user with a cloud-based platform that includes the operating system, middleware, runtime, database, and other tools and services. PaaS providers are responsible for the infrastructure, security, and maintenance of the platform, and the end user only needs to write and manage the code and data of their applications. PaaS applications are usually customized and developed by the end user, rather than provided by the cloud service provider. IaaS, or Infrastructure as a Service, is a cloud service model that delivers and manages the basic computing resources, such as servers, storage, networking, and virtualization, over the internet. IaaS provides the end user with a cloud-based infrastructure that can be used to run any software or application. IaaS providers are responsible for the hardware, security, and maintenance of the infrastructure, and the end user is responsible for the operating system, middleware, runtime, database, and applications. IaaS applications are usually more complex and require more configuration and management by the end user, rather than by the cloud service provider.