Certified Cloud Security Professional (CCSP) Practice Exam

What does Dynamic Application Security Testing (DAST) involve?

1. Testing an application or software product in an operating state

2. Encapsulating application software from the operating system

3. Managing various network components on an abstract level

4. Creating a structurally similar but inauthentic version of data

The correct answer is: Testing an application or software product in an operating state

Dynamic Application Security Testing (DAST) involves testing an application or software product in its operating state. This method focuses on evaluating the application while it is running, simulating various attack vectors in real-time to identify vulnerabilities that could be exploited when the application is live in its environment. The aim is to assess the application's behavior under various scenarios, which is essential for ensuring it can withstand security threats. This form of testing contrasts with static analysis, which examines the source code or binary without executing the program. DAST is particularly beneficial for discovering issues such as runtime errors, memory leaks, authentication errors, and other security flaws that may not be evident until the application is executed. In contrast, the other options refer to different concepts that are not aligned with the dynamic testing approach. For instance, encapsulating application software from the operating system relates to isolation and security hardening rather than direct testing of the application in a live state. Managing various network components on an abstract level relates to network management rather than application security, and creating a structurally similar but inauthentic version of data pertains to data masking or anonymization, which is unrelated to the testing process itself.