CCCS-203b CrowdStrike Certified Cloud Specialist Questions and Answers

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.

CrowdStrike Falcon Cloud Security supportsscheduled reportingas the preferred mechanism for automatically distributing security findings to stakeholders who may not have direct access to the Falcon console. When container vulnerabilities need to be reviewed on aweekly basis, the correct and most operationally efficient approach is tocreate a scheduled report covering the last 7 days.

Scheduled reports can be configured to run automatically and delivered via email to designated recipients, including users without Falcon console access. This makes them ideal for cross-functional teams, auditors, or management who require regular visibility into container risk without interactive access.

UsingAdvanced Event Searchrequires console access and manual execution, which does not meet the requirement for automatic distribution. Dashboards also require console access and cannot be securely shared externally. A 24-hour report would not align with the stated weekly review cadence and could result in incomplete visibility.

CrowdStrike documentation and best practices recommend scheduled reports for recurring compliance, vulnerability, and risk reporting use cases. Therefore, the correct solution is tocreate a scheduled report to list vulnerable container data from the last 7 days.

According to CrowdStrike Falcon documentation regardingFalcon Cloud Security (FCS)andContainer Security, the method used to deploy sensors significantly impacts how updates are managed. When Linux hosts are part of a Kubernetes cluster and the Falcon sensor is deployed as aDaemonSet, the standard "Sensor Update Policy" configured in the Falcon Console does not automatically trigger a version change in the same way it does for a standard Windows or Linux workstation.

In aDaemonSet deployment, the sensor version is typically tied to the specificcontainer image tagor the version defined in theHelm chartor YAML manifest used during deployment. If the manifest specifies a static version or if the orchestration layer (Kubernetes) is not instructed to pull a newer image and rollout a restart of the DaemonSet pods, the hosts will remain on their current version regardless of the "n-2" policy set in the console.

Furthermore, CrowdStrike documentation notes that forLinux Sensor Update Policies, the "n-2" setting dictates which version isassignedto the host, but the mechanism of delivery must be supported. In containerized environments, the "Auto-update" feature is often bypassed by the immutable nature of the deployment. To resolve this, the administrator must update the DaemonSet configuration to point to the newer sensor image, allowing Kubernetes to perform a rolling update across the nodes.

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.

In Falcon Cloud Security, theRegistry assessment statuswidget provides visibility into the current state of container image assessments for connected registries. This widget displaysaggregate totals of assessed and unassessed images, allowing analysts to quickly determine whether images are being successfully scanned.

When investigating unassessed images, this widget is the primary starting point because it reflects real-time assessment coverage across all configured registry connections. It helps identify gaps caused by authentication failures, network restrictions, throttling, or configuration limits such as assessment age thresholds.

Other widgets provide narrower views.Image processingfocuses on images currently being scanned,Assessed imagesonly shows completed scans without highlighting gaps, andConnection statusreflects connectivity health but not assessment coverage.

CrowdStrike documentation and UI design emphasize the Registry assessment status widget as the authoritative summary for image assessment completeness. Therefore, the correct answer isRegistry assessment status.

To allow an analyst to reviewcloud control plane Indicators of Misconfiguration (IOMs)while maintaining least-privilege access, CrowdStrike recommends assigning theCSPM Misconfiguration Viewerrole.

Cloud control plane IOMs focus on identifying insecure configurations across cloud providers, such as overly permissive IAM roles, disabled logging, public exposure of services, or noncompliant security settings. The CSPM Misconfiguration Viewer role grantsread-only accessto these findings, allowing analysts to investigate risks without making configuration changes.

Other roles provide broader access than required.Cloud Security Managerincludes administrative and modification privileges, exceeding least-privilege requirements.Kubernetes and Containers Managerfocuses on container and Kubernetes security, not cloud control plane configurations.Cloud Compliance Vieweris oriented toward compliance frameworks rather than detailed misconfiguration analysis.

By assigning the CSPM Misconfiguration Viewer role, organizations ensure analysts can perform their investigative duties safely and appropriately, aligning with CrowdStrike’s role-based access control (RBAC) best practices.

A valid and recommended reason for adding base images into Falcon Cloud Security is toreduce duplicate findings when a base image is used multiple times. Base images are commonly shared across many application images, meaning vulnerabilities, secrets, or detections present in the base layer can appear repeatedly across derived images.

By onboarding base images directly into Falcon Cloud Security, the platform can more efficiently track and correlate vulnerabilities at their source. This allows security teams to remediate issues once at the base image level rather than addressing the same findings across every downstream image. As a result, vulnerability management becomes more accurate, scalable, and operationally efficient.

The other options are incorrect and potentially dangerous assumptions. Base image CVEscan absolutely be exploitedby adversaries, and base image vulnerabilities are not inherently less risky than other CVEs. In many cases, unpatched base images are a primary attack vector in containerized environments.

CrowdStrike’s container image strategy emphasizes reducing noise, improving prioritization, and enabling faster remediation. Adding base images supports these goals by minimizing duplicate alerts and providing clearer insight into risk inheritance across image hierarchies. Therefore, the correct answer isReduce duplicates when a base image is used multiple times.

When protecting a Kubernetes endpoint that hosts container workloadswith access to the Linux kernel, CrowdStrike recommends deploying theFalcon Sensor for Linux as a DaemonSet.

This deployment model installs the full Falcon Linux sensor on each Kubernetes worker node using a DaemonSet, ensuring one sensor runs per node. Because the sensor has kernel-level access, it provides deep visibility into system calls, process execution, network activity, and container behavior—delivering robust runtime protection.

TheFalcon Container Sensor for Linuxis used when kernel access is not available (for example, in managed or restricted environments). TheFalcon Operator Container Imagesimplifies lifecycle management but is not itself the sensor. Deploying the standard Falcon Sensor for Linux outside a DaemonSet would not scale correctly in Kubernetes.

Therefore, for Kubernetes environments with kernel access, the correct and CrowdStrike-recommended installation isFalcon Sensor for Linux deployed as a DaemonSet.

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.

Drift indicators in the Containers dashboard are used to identify containers performing activity that deviates from their original image configuration. Drift occurs when files, binaries, or processes appear in a running container that were not present in the image at build time.

CrowdStrike Falcon Cloud Security tracks this behavior to help identify compromised containers, unauthorized changes, or violations of immutability principles. Drift indicators are especially valuable in production environments where containers are expected to remain unchanged after deployment.

Alerts and container detections may signal malicious behavior, but drift indicators specifically highlight unexpected changes relative to the image baseline. Therefore, the correct answer is Drift indicators.

InFalcon Cloud Security, thePackages dashboardallows filtering package inventory bypackage type, such as Python, Java, or OS-level packages.

To share results with a team memberwho is not a Falcon user, the data must be exported. Creating saved filters does not grant access to non-users. Filtering bypackage type: PYTHONensures all Python-related packages are included regardless of name or version, providing complete coverage.

Exporting the filtered results toCSV or JSONenables easy sharing, offline analysis, and integration into other tools.

Therefore, the correct option isFilter by package type: PYTHON and export to CSV or JSON.

When creating animage groupin CrowdStrike Falcon Cloud Security, valid attributes must align with how container images are uniquely identified and organized. The supported attributes includerepository and image tags, which together allow precise grouping of related images.

Therepositorydefines the image namespace or project within a registry, whileimage tagsrepresent versions or variants such as latest, prod, or semantic versions. Using these attributes enables security teams to target policies and assessments consistently across image versions without relying on static names.

Options involvingimage nameare incorrect because Falcon does not use a standalone image name field for grouping. Image identity is derived from registry, repository, and tag combinations. Registry can be used in some grouping contexts, but for image groups specifically, repository and tag are the valid selectable attributes.

Therefore, the correct answer isRepository and Image tags.

Cloud Groups in CrowdStrike Falcon Cloud Security are designed to logically segment cloud resources so users can focus only on what is relevant to their role or responsibility. The primary way cloud groups reduce noise is bynarrowing a user’s scope of analysis through filtered cloud resources.

By grouping resources based on criteria such as account, region, service, or tags, Cloud Groups ensure that analysts and responders only see findings related to the resources they own or manage. This minimizes alert fatigue, reduces unnecessary exposure to unrelated findings, and improves investigation efficiency.

Cloud Groups do not assign permissions directly; permissions are managed through Falcon RBAC roles. They also do not primarily function as exclusion mechanisms—although exclusions may be applied, their core purpose is scoping and contextualization.

CrowdStrike best practices emphasize Cloud Groups as a way to align security visibility with organizational structure, enabling teams to operate more efficiently and responsibly. Therefore, the correct answer isNarrow a user’s scope of analysis by filtering cloud resources.

InFalcon Cloud Security image assessment policies, exclusions can be created to temporarily suppress enforcement or blocking of specific vulnerabilities. To block or exclude a vulnerability for auser-defined duration, the exclusion must be scoped using aVulnerability ID (CVE).

Using a Vulnerability ID allows precise control over a single, known issue and enables time-bound exclusions aligned with remediation plans or operational constraints. This approach ensures security teams can balance risk with business requirements while maintaining auditability and control.

Other options are too broad and do not support precise, time-based exclusions. Grouping vulnerabilities by publication date, exploit availability, or fix status lacks the granularity required for targeted policy enforcement.

Therefore,Vulnerability IDis the correct and documented mechanism for blocking a specific vulnerability for a defined period.