IDP CrowdStrike Certified Identity Specialist(CCIS) Exam Questions and Answers

Cloud-based MFA connectors integrate Falcon Identity Protection with third-party MFA providers usingapplication-based authentication, not user credentials. As outlined in the CCIS curriculum, these connectors require anapplication identifier (Client/Application ID)andsecret keysto securely authenticate API communications.

This approach follows modern security best practices by avoiding the use of privileged user credentials and instead leveraging scoped, revocable application secrets. The connector uses these credentials to trigger MFA challenges and exchange authentication context securely.

Options involving usernames, passwords, or domain controller details are incorrect, as Falcon Identity Protection does not store or require privileged account credentials for MFA integrations. Therefore,Option Dis the correct answer.

Policy Rules in Falcon Identity Protection are designed to automate enforcement and response actions based on identity-related conditions observed in the environment. According to the CCIS curriculum, Policy Rules evaluate identity signals such as authentication behavior, risk levels, privilege status, and detection outcomes, then execute predefined actions when specific criteria are met.

These actions may include blocking authentication, enforcing MFA, generating alerts, or triggering Falcon Fusion workflows. This design supports Falcon’s Zero Trust and continuous validation model, where trust decisions are dynamically enforced rather than statically assigned. Policy Rules therefore act as the operational bridge between identity analytics and enforcement.

The incorrect options confuse Policy Rules with other platform components. Administrative permissions are governed by RBAC, sensor data collection scope is controlled through configuration settings, and behavioral learning is handled by Falcon’s analytics engine—not Policy Rules.

The CCIS documentation explicitly defines Policy Rules as logic-based enforcement mechanisms, making Option A the correct and verified answer.

TheNIST SP 800-207 Zero Trust Architectureframework fundamentally rejects the concept of implicit trust based on network location. As outlined in both NIST guidance and reinforced in the CCIS curriculum,all users must be continuously validated and authenticated regardless of whether they are inside or outside the network perimeter.

Zero Trust assumes that threats can originate from anywhere, including internal networks. Therefore, authentication and authorization decisions must be made dynamically using identity, device posture, behavior, and risk signals—not network placement.

Falcon Identity Protection aligns directly with this principle by continuously evaluating identity behavior forall users, whether they authenticate from internal corporate networks, remote locations, or cloud environments.

Because Zero Trust applies universally,Option Cis the correct and verified answer.

Falcon Fusion workflows integrate directly with Falcon Identity Protection throughidentity-based triggers, allowing automated responses to identity threats. The correct trigger that activates a Falcon Fusion workflow from Identity Protection isAlert > Identity detection.

Identity detections are generated when Falcon observes suspicious or malicious identity behavior, such as credential abuse, abnormal authentication patterns, lateral movement attempts, or policy violations related to identity risk. These detections are distinct from endpoint-only detections or incidents and are specifically designed to representidentity-based attack activity.

WhileNew incidentandNew endpoint detectionare valid Falcon Fusion triggers in other Falcon modules, they are not the primary triggers for identity-focused automation. Similarly,Spotlight user action > Hostrelates to vulnerability management workflows rather than identity analytics.

The CCIS curriculum emphasizes that Falcon Fusion enablesautomated identity response, such as notifying security teams, disabling accounts, enforcing MFA, or triggering SOAR actions, based onidentity detections. Therefore, workflows tied toAlert > Identity detectionallow organizations to respond quickly and consistently to identity threats, makingOption Cthe correct answer.

The CCIS curriculum highlights a critical identity-security concept: when attackers usecompromised credentials, they often bypass traditional malware-based attack phases, including theExecutionphase of the MITRE ATT&CK framework. Because no malicious code needs to be executed, attackers can immediately begin interacting with the environment as a legitimate user.

As a result, threat actors move directly into theDiscoveryphase. During Discovery, attackers enumerate users, groups, privileges, systems, domain relationships, and trust paths to understand the environment and plan further actions. This behavior is commonly observed in identity-based attacks and living-off-the-land techniques.

Falcon Identity Protection is specifically designed to detect this behavior by monitoring authentication traffic, privilege usage, and anomalous identity activity—areas where traditional EDR tools may have limited visibility.

The other options are incorrect:

Initial Access has already occurred via credential compromise.

Weaponization and Execution are not required.

Lateral Movement typically follows Discovery.

Because compromised credentials allow attackers to jump straight intoDiscovery,Option Cis the correct and verified answer.

In the Domain Security Overview,Scopeis a configurable setting that allows administrators toswitch between Active Directory domains and Azure tenants. This capability is essential for organizations managing multiple identity environments, as it enables targeted risk assessment and comparison across different identity infrastructures.

The CCIS documentation explains that Scope determineswhich domain or tenant’s identity data is displayedin the Overview dashboard, including risk scores, trends, and prioritized remediation guidance. Changing the scope does not alter risk calculations; it simply refocuses the analysis on the selected identity environment.

Other options are incorrect because:

Privileged Identities represent a subset of users, not a switchable setting.

Domains are entities, not a dashboard control.

Goal changes how risks are evaluated, not which environment is displayed.

By allowing granular control over which domain or tenant is analyzed, Scope supports accurate identity risk management in complex, hybrid environments. Therefore,Option Dis the correct answer.

GraphQL is the underlying query technology used by multiple CrowdStrike platforms, including Falcon Identity Protection. According to the CCIS curriculum,GraphQL examples are documented under the broader “CrowdStrike APIs” documentation category, not limited to a single product.

The CrowdStrike APIs section includes:

Authentication and API key usage

GraphQL schema references

Example GraphQL queries and mutations

Pagination, filtering, and response handling

While Identity Protection uses GraphQL for identity-specific queries, the examples themselves are centralized underCrowdStrike APIsto provide consistency across Falcon modules. Product-specific use cases are then layered on top of these core examples.

The other options are incorrect:

Threat Intelligence focuses on adversary data.

XDR covers detection and correlation concepts.

Identity Protection APIs describe endpoints and permissions, not general GraphQL usage examples.

Therefore,Option Ais the correct and verified answer.

In Falcon Identity Protection,Informationaldetections represent low-impact events that provide context but do not indicate elevated identity risk. According to the CCIS curriculum,Informational events are excluded by defaultfrom standard detection views to reduce noise and allow analysts to focus on higher-risk activity.

By default,Low, Medium, and High severity detections remain visible, as these contribute directly to identity risk scoring, incident formation, and investigative workflows. Informational detections can still be viewed if filters are adjusted, but they are intentionally hidden in default views.

This design supports efficient threat triage by prioritizing detections that are more likely to represent real security concerns. The other options listed are not valid detection severity classifications within Falcon Identity Protection.

Because Informational events are excluded by default while higher-severity detections remain visible,Option Ais the correct and verified answer.

Falcon Identity Protection is architected as alog-free identity security platform, a core tenet emphasized throughout the CCIS curriculum. Unlike traditional SIEM- or log-based solutions, Falcon Identity Protection doesnot require string-based queriesto continuously assess identity events or associate them with threats.

Instead, the platform relies onmachine-learning-powered detection rules,real-time authentication traffic inspection, andAPI-based connectorsto collect and analyze identity telemetry directly from domain controllers and identity providers. This approach eliminates the operational complexity of building, tuning, and maintaining query logic.

String-based queries are commonly associated with legacy log aggregation tools and SIEM platforms, where analysts must manually search logs to identify suspicious behavior. Falcon Identity Protection replaces this model withbehavioral baselining and automated correlation, enabling continuous identity risk assessment without human-driven query execution.

Because Falcon does not require string-based queries to operate,Option Dis the correct and verified answer.

In CrowdStrike Falcon Identity Protection, theRisktab within a user or account entity provides administrators with direct visibility intowhy an account has a specific risk score and what actions can be taken to reduce that score. This functionality is a core component of theUser AssessmentandRisk Assessmentsections of the CCIS (CrowdStrike Identity Specialist) curriculum.

The Risk tab aggregates bothanalysis-based risksanddetection-based risks, clearly identifying contributing factors such as compromised passwords, excessive privileges, risky authentication behavior, stale or never-used accounts, and policy violations. It also highlights theseverity, likelihood, and consequenceof each risk factor, allowingadministrators to prioritize remediation efforts effectively. Most importantly, this tab providesactionable guidance, enabling teams to understand which specific remediation steps—such as enforcing MFA, resetting credentials, reducing privileges, or disabling unused accounts—will directly lower the account’s overall risk score.

Other entity tabs do not provide this capability. TheTimelinetab focuses on chronological events and detections, theActivitytab displays authentication and behavioral activity, and theAssettab shows associated endpoints and resources. Only theRisktab is designed to explain risk drivers and guide remediation, makingOption Dthe correct and verified answer.

Falcon Identity Protection integrates withIdentity-as-a-Service (IDaaS)providers to ingest cloud authentication activity and enforce identity-based policies. According to the CCIS curriculum,Okta SSOis a supported IDaaS connector that enables Falcon to ingestcloud authentication eventswhile also applyingSingle Sign-On (SSO) policies.

Okta SSO provides rich identity telemetry, including login attempts, device context, and authentication outcomes. This data allows Falcon Identity Protection to correlate on-premises and cloud-based identity activity, extending identity risk analysis beyond Active Directory.

The other options are incorrect:

ADFSis an on-premises federation service, not a cloud IDaaS.

Azure NPSis used for RADIUS-based MFA, not SSO ingestion.

SAMLis a protocol, not an IDaaS connector.

Because Okta SSO provides both cloud activity ingestion and SSO enforcement,Option Bis the correct and verified answer.

Within Falcon Identity Protection, aWatched Useris a user explicitly designated forheightened monitoringdue to potential business risk. According to the CCIS curriculum, watchlists are designed to provide additional visibility into users whose behavior, access level, or role may warrant closer observation, even if they have not yet exhibited confirmed malicious activity.

Watched Users may include executives, administrators, users with access to sensitive systems, or accounts suspected of being targeted. Placing a user on a watchlist does not imply compromise; instead, it ensures their activity is prioritized in investigations, detections, and dashboards.

The other options are incorrect:

Honeytoken Accountsare decoy accounts designed to detect malicious usage.

High Riskis a calculated risk state, not a monitoring classification.

Marked Useris not a valid Falcon Identity Protection classification.

Because the CCIS material explicitly identifiesWatched Usersas accounts requiring observation for potential risk,Option Cis the correct and verified answer.

To integrate Falcon Identity Protection withAzure AD (Entra ID)as an Identity-as-a-Service (IDaaS) provider, specific application-level credentials are required. According to the CCIS curriculum, the connector configuration requiresTenant Domain,Application (Client) ID, andApplication Secret.

These values are generated when registering an application in Azure AD and are used to authenticate Falcon Identity Protection securely via OAuth-based API access. This method ensures least-privilege access and allows the connector to ingest cloud authentication activity and apply SSO-related policy enforcement.

Other options list incomplete or incorrect credential combinations. Therefore,Option Dis the correct and verified answer.

Falcon Identity Protection enforces deterministic policy execution using a clear and predictable precedence model. As outlined in the CCIS curriculum, Policy Groups are evaluated top to bottom, based on their order in the console. Within each Policy Group, Policy Rules are evaluated sequentially, also from top to bottom.

This ordered evaluation ensures consistent enforcement behavior and allows administrators to design layered identity controls. When a rule’s conditions are met and an action is executed, subsequent rules may or may not be evaluated depending on rule logic and configuration. This model gives administrators precise control over enforcement priority.

The incorrect options misunderstand how precedence works. Policy enforcement is not unordered, nor are Policy Groups merely visual containers. Both grouping and rule order matter.

This precedence model is critical for avoiding conflicting enforcement actions and aligns with Zero Trust principles by ensuring predictable, auditable identity enforcement. Therefore, Option A is the correct answer.