TechKnowSurge
CompTIA Security+ 3.1
InteractiveSecurityFree

Who Has to Act?

A patch nobody installs, an open bucket, a failed drive in a rented rack. Predict who has to act in each model.

⚑ Complete this interactive to capture a CTF flag worth 5 points.

About this interactive

When you hire out part of your infrastructure, you hire out part of its security too. The shared responsibility model draws the line between your job and the provider's, and it moves with the model you choose. On-premises, every layer is yours, from the building's power to the apps. In colocation the facility runs the building, its power, cooling and physical security, and the hardware and everything on it stay yours. In IaaS the provider runs everything up to the hypervisor, and you start at the operating system. In PaaS it also runs the operating system and the runtime, and you bring the app and its data. In SaaS it runs the application too. In every model, your own data, who has an account and how they sign in stay with you. Many cloud incidents start with a job on the customer's side of the line that the customer assumed the provider was doing: a guest operating system nobody patched, a storage bucket left open, an account nobody removed. To predict who acts, find the layer the event is in, then ask which side of the line that layer sits on in this model.

What you'll learn

Aligned to

CompTIA Security+
3.1 Compare and contrast security implications of different architecture models.

Key terms

Shared Responsibility Model
A framework that defines how security responsibilities are divided between a cloud service provider and its customers across different service and deployment models.
Infrastructure as a Service
IaaS
A cloud service model that provides virtualized computing infrastructure over the internet.
Platform as a Service
PaaS
A cloud service model that provides a platform for developing, running, and managing applications without managing infrastructure.
Software as a Service
SaaS
A cloud service model that delivers software applications over the internet on a subscription basis.
Colocation
A data center model in which an organization rents physical space, power, cooling, and network connectivity from a third-party facility while retaining ownership of its own servers and equipment.
On-Premises
An infrastructure deployment model in which hardware and software are hosted locally within an organization's own facilities rather than in a cloud provider's data center. On-premises deployments give organizations full control over their security posture.
Hypervisor
Software that creates and manages virtual machines by abstracting hardware resources.
Multi-Factor Authentication
MFA
An authentication method that requires users to provide two or more verification factors to gain access.

Topics

Shared Responsibility Model Infrastructure As A Service Platform As A Service Software As A Service Colocation Interactive Predict

About TechKnowSurge

TechKnowSurge builds IT and cybersecurity professionals through hands-on, concept-first training built around real understanding — not memorization. Free interactive tools, structured programs, and 25+ years of real-world experience, all in one place.

Explore free tools and programs →