CCCS-203b CrowdStrike Certified Cloud Specialist Questions and Answers

When deploying theFalcon Kubernetes Admission Controller (KAC)using aHelm chart, access to CrowdStrike-hosted container images is required. These images are stored inCrowdStrike’s private container registry, which requires authentication.

To retrieve the Falcon KAC image, a validCrowdStrike API client key(client ID and secret) must be provided. This API credential allows Helm to authenticate to the Falcon registry and securely pull the required KAC image during deployment. Without valid API credentials, image retrieval fails, and the KAC deployment cannot complete successfully.

Other options listed do not satisfy this requirement. SENSOR_PLATFORM and FALCON_REGION are configuration parameters used during sensor installation but do not authenticate registry access. Docker itself is not sufficient, as authentication to the CrowdStrike registry is still required.

Therefore, anAPI client keyis mandatory to ensure successful retrieval of the Falcon KAC image during Helm-based deployment.

When using theFalcon Kubernetes Admission Controller, CrowdStrike allows administrators to precisely scope which Kubernetes assets are evaluated againstIndicators of Misconfiguration (IOMs)andImage Assessment policiesby usingboth namespaces and pod or service labels.

Namespaces provide a logical boundary within Kubernetes clusters, often representing environments such as dev, staging, or production. Labels add further granularity by identifying workloads based on application, team ownership, or deployment tier. By combining namespaces and labels, security teams can enforce policies with fine-grained control while minimizing unintended enforcement.

Using only namespaces or only labels limits flexibility and may lead to over- or under-enforcement. CrowdStrike documentation supports the combined approach as a best practice for scalable and precise policy enforcement in Kubernetes environments.

Therefore, the correct answer isNamespaces and Pod or Service labels.

Unassessed images pose a security risk because theyexist in connected image registries but have not been evaluated for vulnerabilities. Even if they are not currently running, these images can be deployed at any time, potentially introducing critical vulnerabilities, secrets, or malware into production environments.

Falcon Cloud Security emphasizes proactive image assessment to ensure risks are identifiedbefore deployment. Unassessed images represent blind spots where vulnerabilities may go unnoticed until runtime, increasing exposure and response time.

Options describing actively running containers are incorrect because running workloads are typically assessed through runtime sensors. The primary concern with unassessed images is theirunknown risk posture prior to use.

Therefore, the correct answer isThey are in one of your connected image registries but have not been checked for vulnerabilities.

In CrowdStrike Falcon Cloud Security, Cloud Groups are used to logically group container images so that policies, assessments, and controls can be applied consistently across workloads. When editing or defining a Cloud Group for container images, Falcon allows administrators to select specificimage propertiesto precisely target the desired scope.

The three supported image properties areRegistry, Repository, and Tag.

Registryidentifies where the container image is hosted, such as Amazon ECR, Azure Container Registry, or Docker Hub.

Repositorydefines the image namespace or project within the registry.

Tagspecifies the image version or variant (for example, latest, v1.2.3, or prod).

Using these three properties together enables highly granular targeting. For example, security teams can apply stricter policies only to production-tagged images from a specific registry and repository, while allowing more flexibility for development images.

Options that includeNameare incorrect because CrowdStrike does not use a standalone “image name” field when defining Cloud Group image criteria. Instead, image identity is derived from the combination of registry, repository, and tag.

Therefore, the correct and fully supported selection isRegistry, Repository, and Tag, which aligns with CrowdStrike Falcon Cloud Security configuration and documentation.

When investigating widespread Indicators of Misconfiguration (IOMs) such as Azure MFA not being enforced, CrowdStrike Falcon Cloud Security provides deeper investigative context through Event Search and Asset Graph. These two capabilities work together to move beyond a high-level finding count and into actionable insight.

Event Search allows analysts to query cloud control plane activity and identity-related events to understand how authentication policies are configured, modified, or bypassed over time. This helps determine whether MFA gaps are due to legacy configurations, recent changes, or specific identities or services.

Asset Graph provides a visual and relational view of cloud identities, subscriptions, roles, and permissions. It enables analysts to see which users, service principals, or resources are affected by missing MFA enforcement and how they are connected across the environment.

The other options do not provide the same depth of investigation. Identity & Cloud Group is primarily used for scoping visibility, while CloudTrail logging is AWS-specific and not applicable to Azure MFA findings. Therefore, the correct answer is Event search & Asset graph.

TheIOM Remediation linkin Falcon Cloud Security providescloud-provider-specific remediation guidance, which is the most actionable information for addressing misconfigurations. This includes direct links to official documentation from providers such as AWS, Azure, or GCP that explain the correct configuration steps and security implications.

While severity and finding counts help with prioritization, they do not tell teamshow to fix the issue. Cloud provider documentation ensures remediation actions are accurate, supported, and aligned with native platform best practices.

CrowdStrike intentionally includes these links to reduce friction between security and cloud operations teams, enabling faster and more reliable remediation. Therefore, the correct answer isRelated documentation from the cloud provider.

When CrowdStrike Falcon detects cloud credentials—such as AWS access keys—stored in cleartext within a container image, the finding is classified as aSecretdetection. Secrets include sensitive data such as API keys, access tokens, passwords, and cryptographic material embedded in container images, configuration files, or source code.

Falcon Cloud Security performs deep inspection of container images during image assessment to identify hard-coded secrets before those images are deployed into runtime environments. Storing AWS credentials in cleartext represents a critical security risk because attackers who gain access to the image can easily extract and misuse those credentials to access cloud resources.

Whilemisconfigurationsfocus on insecure cloud settings andsuspicious filesrelate to potentially malicious artifacts, secret detections are specifically intended to highlight exposed sensitive information. TheExposed credentialoption may sound similar, but within CrowdStrike’s detection taxonomy for container and image security, these findings are categorized underSecretdetections.

Investigating Secret detections allows security teams to quickly identify where credentials are embedded, rotate compromised keys, and remediate the issue by using secure alternatives such as cloud-native secrets managers or environment-based injection mechanisms. Therefore, the correct detection type to search for isSecret.

When creating an Image Assessment policy exclusion in CrowdStrike Falcon Cloud Security, the recommended and most precise method to temporarily suppress a specific CVE isVulnerability ID & Exclude until 14 days.

This approach allows security teams to explicitly reference a known CVE (for example, CVE-2024-XXXX) and suppress enforcement for a defined time window. The 14-day exclusion period is commonly used to allow development teams time to rebuild images, validate patches, or address dependency constraints without permanently weakening security posture.

Broad exclusions based on recently published vulnerabilities or packages can unintentionally suppress unrelated risk and increase exposure. Indefinite exclusions are discouraged unless there is a strong, documented business justification.

CrowdStrike documentation and best practices emphasizetime-bound, CVE-specific exclusionsto balance operational flexibility with security rigor. Therefore, the correct and recommended option isVulnerability ID & Exclude until 14 days.

InFalcon Cloud Security, prevention actions are triggered whenall configured enforcement criteriawithin a policy are met. When customizing theGKE Autopilot policy, enforcement requires alignment across vulnerability intelligence, detection severity, and compliance context.

By setting:

Vulnerability ExPRT.ai severity = Critical

Detection severity = Critical

Detection type = CIS benchmark deviation

you ensure that bothrisk-based vulnerability intelligenceandcompliance deviation severitythresholds are satisfied. This combination confirms that the issue is not only severe but also represents a critical deviation from an accepted security benchmark, justifying prevention.

Omitting the detection type or replacing it with image misconfiguration alone does not meet the enforcement logic required for policy-triggered prevention.

Therefore,Option Cis the correct combination that triggers prevention.

InCrowdStrike Falcon Cloud Security, configuration policy breaches aligned to regulatory and security frameworks such asNISTare tracked asIndicators of Misconfiguration (IOMs). These findings represent deviations from best-practice configurations and compliance benchmarks.

To provide an auditable list of NIST-related configuration violations, the correct location isExport Cloud Posture – Indicators of misconfiguration. This export includes detailed records of misconfigured resources, associated benchmarks (NIST, CIS, etc.), affected cloud accounts, severity, and remediation guidance. It is specifically designed to support internal and external audit requirements.

Cloud Indicators of Attack focus on threat activity, not compliance. Remediation status reports focus on fix progress rather than raw policy violations. The Cloud Posture dashboard provides a high-level summary but does not deliver the detailed, exportable list required for audits.

Therefore,Export Cloud Posture – Indicators of misconfigurationis the correct and documented source.

In CrowdStrike Falcon Cloud Security, exclusions for cloud scans are designed to be precise and scalable so that organizations can safely reduce noise without weakening overall security coverage. According to CrowdStrike best practices,tagsare the recommended and supported criterion for creating cloud scan exclusions.

Tags are metadata labels applied to cloud resources (such as AWS accounts, instances, or services) and are commonly used for ownership, environment classification (for example, dev, test, or prod), or application grouping. By using tags as exclusion criteria, security teams can dynamically control which resources are excluded from scans without relying on static identifiers. This is especially important in cloud environments where resources are frequently created, modified, or terminated.

Exclusions based onaccounts,regions, orservicesare broader in scope and can unintentionally exclude large portions of the environment, increasing the risk of blind spots. Tag-based exclusions allow CrowdStrike Falcon to maintain least-privilege security principles by excluding only explicitly labeled resources.

Because Falcon continuously evaluates cloud resources, tag-based exclusions automatically apply to newly created assets that inherit the same tag, ensuring consistent policy enforcement. For these reasons, CrowdStrike documentation and operational guidance identifyTagas the correct and most effective criterion for creating cloud scan exclusions.

When troubleshooting issues with cloud account registrations in CrowdStrike Falcon Cloud Security, thefirst stepshould be toverify the email verification process. Cloud account registration workflows rely on confirmation emails for validation, authorization, and completion of onboarding steps.

If verification emails are delayed, blocked, or misrouted due to email filtering, domain restrictions, or misconfigured mail settings, the registration process can appear to fail even though the underlying configuration is correct. Checking this process is non-disruptive and often resolves the issue quickly.

Resetting user passwords or disabling registration features are intrusive actions that should only be taken after basic validation steps are completed. CrowdStrike best practices emphasize starting with low-impact troubleshooting actions before making broader changes.

Therefore, confirming that users are receiving and completing verification emails is the correct and recommended first step.

TheContainers and Images Compliance dashboardinFalcon Cloud Securityis designed to give security and DevOps teams avisual, aggregated view of compliance postureacross container images and running containers.

This dashboard summarizes compliance status against benchmarks such asCIS, organizational policies, and security best practices. It highlights compliant versus non-compliant images and containers, severity distribution, and trending risk, enabling teams to quickly assess overall posture and prioritize remediation.

The dashboard does not perform network monitoring, automatic patching, or unsupported container enumeration. Those functions are handled by other Falcon modules or operational workflows.

Therefore, itsprimary functionis toprovide a visual summary of compliance across containers and images, makingOption Acorrect.

When registering an individual AWS account in CrowdStrike Falcon Cloud Security using the Falcon UI, therecommended and supported method is AWS CloudFormation. CrowdStrike provides a prebuilt CloudFormation template that automates the creation of required AWS resources, including IAM roles, permissions, and trust relationships needed for secure, read-only API access.

Using CloudFormation ensures the deployment isconsistent, auditable, and aligned with AWS best practices. It minimizes human error by automatically configuring the correct permissions required for Falcon to collect configuration, identity, and resource metadata from AWS. This method also simplifies lifecycle management—resources can be updated or removed cleanly by managing the CloudFormation stack.

Other options are not recommended for this use case.AWS Configis a native AWS compliance service but does not handle Falcon onboarding.Terraform scriptsmay be used in advanced or large-scale automation scenarios, but they are not the default or recommended approach for single-account registration in the Falcon UI.Bash scriptslack governance, validation, and repeatability.

Therefore, when registering a single AWS account through the Falcon console,AWS CloudFormationis the correct and CrowdStrike-recommended method.