Which of the following security controls works as the totality of protection mechanisms within a computer system, including hardware, firmware, and software, the combination of which is responsible fo

Question

Options

• ATrusted computing base (TCB)
• BCommon data security architecture (CDSA)
• CInternet Protocol Security (IPSec)
• DApplication program interface (API)

• A
  95% (21)
• C
  5% (1)

Explanation

Trusted Computing Base (TCB) is the complete set of all protection mechanisms in a computer system - hardware, firmware, and software - that collectively enforce a security policy. It's the foundational "trust boundary" of a system; if the TCB is compromised, no security guarantee holds.

Why the distractors are wrong:

• B (CDSA) is a layered security framework/API architecture from Intel for managing cryptographic services - it's a specific architecture, not the holistic enforcement mechanism described.
• C (IPSec) is a network-layer protocol suite for encrypting and authenticating IP traffic - it's one narrow security control, not the totality of system protections.
• D (API) is a programming interface that allows software components to communicate - it has nothing inherently to do with enforcing security policy across hardware and firmware.

Memory tip: Think of TCB as the "circle of trust" for an entire system. The key phrase on the exam is "totality of protection mechanisms" spanning hardware + firmware + software - that combination uniquely describes TCB. No single protocol or interface (IPSec, API) covers all three layers.

No community discussion yet for this question.