ISC2 Systems Security Certified Practitioner (SSCP) Practice Question
While performing a peer code review of a Python module that will run on an AWS Lambda function, you notice the developer initialized the SDK client as follows:
The source code is stored in a private GitHub repository that triggers an automated deployment pipeline. From a secure-coding and vulnerability-management standpoint, which issue should you flag as the highest priority and what remediation should you recommend?
No action is required because CodePipeline automatically encrypts any credentials embedded in the source during deployment.
Hard-coded AWS access keys risk credential compromise; replace them with an IAM role or retrieve them securely from AWS Secrets Manager.
Using the boto3 client interface instead of the higher-level resource interface increases exposure; switch to the resource interface to reduce risk.
The repository is private, so the embedded keys are protected; the only recommendation is to enable branch protection rules.
Embedding long-term AWS access keys directly in source code is a critical vulnerability because anyone who can read the repository history can use those credentials to access AWS resources. Best practice is to remove hard-coded secrets and instead rely on short-lived credentials provided at run time, such as an IAM role assigned to the Lambda function or storing the secret in a managed service like AWS Secrets Manager accessed through environment variables. The other options either misstate the risk (the boto3 resource interface does not provide additional protection), assume automatic protection that does not exist, or rely solely on repository privacy, which does not mitigate insider threats or accidental exposure.
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What is an IAM role and how does it enhance security in AWS?
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What is AWS Secrets Manager, and how does it help manage sensitive information?
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ISC2 Systems Security Certified Practitioner (SSCP)
Risk Identification, Monitoring and Analysis
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