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Question 1

Score: 0/0

Which regulatory framework governs protection of personal data in the EU?

HIPAA

GDPR

PCI DSS

SOX

to track

2026 Statistics

Key Facts: CSC-210 Exam

Exam Questions

CertNexus

120 min

Exam Duration

CertNexus

60-70%

Passing Score

CertNexus (scaled)

$250

Exam Fee

CertNexus

3 years

Validity

CEC renewal

Top 10

OWASP Coverage

All categories

CSC-210 has 80 questions in 120 minutes with a 60-70% passing score. The exam covers identifying security requirements, OWASP Top 10, threat modeling (STRIDE, PASTA, attack trees), secure design, input validation, authentication (OAuth 2.0, OIDC, FIDO2), SAST/DAST/SCA tooling, cryptography (AES-GCM, TLS 1.3), and secure SDLC frameworks (Microsoft SDL, BSIMM, SAMM). Fee is $250. Valid 3 years.

Sample CSC-210 Practice Questions

Try these sample questions to test your CSC-210 exam readiness. Each question includes a detailed explanation. Start the interactive quiz above for the full 100+ question experience with AI tutoring.

1Which regulatory framework governs protection of personal data in the EU?

A.HIPAA

B.GDPR

C.PCI DSS

D.SOX

Explanation: GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation, EU 2016/679) governs processing of personal data of EU residents, requires 72-hour breach notification, grants rights (access, erasure), and fines up to 4% of global revenue. Developers must incorporate privacy-by-design.

2What does 'privacy by design' require developers to do?

A.Retain all data forever

B.Integrate privacy protections from the start, minimize data collection, default to strictest settings

C.Disable all security controls

D.Share data broadly

Explanation: Privacy by Design (GDPR Art. 25) requires building privacy into systems from inception — data minimization, purpose limitation, strongest default settings, pseudonymization, transparency, and documented DPIAs for high-risk processing.

3Which framework specifies requirements for handling payment card data?

A.GDPR

B.HIPAA

C.PCI DSS

D.COPPA

Explanation: PCI DSS v4.0 (2022) governs handling of payment card data. Requirements include encryption of cardholder data in transit and at rest, secure coding standards (Req 6), regular pen testing (Req 11), and access control (Req 7/8). Applies to anyone processing, storing, or transmitting card data.

4Which is the purpose of a Data Protection Impact Assessment (DPIA)?

A.Test server performance

B.Evaluate privacy risks of processing activities and document mitigations

C.Measure code quality

D.Approve budget

Explanation: A DPIA identifies and mitigates privacy risks before processing personal data at scale. GDPR mandates DPIAs for high-risk processing (large-scale profiling, systematic monitoring). It documents purpose, necessity, proportionality, risks, and mitigations.

5Data classification schemes typically include levels like Public, Internal, Confidential, and:

A.Open

B.Restricted

C.Shared

D.Global

Explanation: Typical classification tiers: Public, Internal, Confidential, Restricted (or Highly Restricted). Classification drives handling rules — encryption, access controls, logging, DLP, and retention. Developers should not design systems for 'unclassified' data.

6Which principle limits collection to what is strictly needed for the stated purpose?

A.Data minimization

B.Data maximization

C.Data lake

D.Data aggregation

Explanation: Data minimization (GDPR Art. 5(1)(c)) requires collecting only the data strictly necessary for the stated purpose. This reduces both breach impact and compliance burden. Code should avoid storing unneeded PII (e.g., no full SSN when last-4 suffices).

7US healthcare data is primarily regulated by which law?

A.GDPR

B.HIPAA

C.CCPA

D.SOX

Explanation: HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act) with the HITECH amendments governs PHI handling in US healthcare. Applies to covered entities and business associates. Security Rule requires administrative, physical, and technical safeguards including encryption.

8California residents' privacy rights are primarily governed by which law?

A.CCPA/CPRA

B.HIPAA

C.SOX

D.FERPA

Explanation: CCPA (California Consumer Privacy Act) and the amending CPRA (California Privacy Rights Act) grant rights to California residents: know, delete, correct, opt out of sale, and limit use of sensitive personal info. CPRA also created the CPPA regulator.

9Which is a common output of security requirements gathering?

A.User stories only

B.Security user stories, abuse/misuse cases, and non-functional security requirements

C.Executive summary

D.Test cases only

Explanation: Secure SDLC adds security user stories ('As an attacker, I want to...'), abuse/misuse cases, and non-functional security requirements (encryption, authN/authZ, logging, performance SLAs under attack). These drive threat modeling and acceptance criteria.

10Which concept describes treating security as a built-in feature from the start rather than an afterthought?

A.Security theater

B.Shift left / secure by design

C.Bolt-on security

D.Last-mile security

Explanation: 'Shift left' integrates security earliest in the SDLC — requirements, design, coding. Secure-by-design means systems are built to be safe even under misuse. Bolting on security at deployment is expensive and ineffective.

About the CSC-210 Exam

Cyber Secure Coder (CSC-210) is CertNexus's vendor-neutral secure development certification for software engineers, application developers, and DevSecOps practitioners. CSC-210 validates the ability to design, build, and maintain applications that are resilient to modern application security threats. It covers OWASP Top 10 mitigations, threat modeling, secure SDLC, SAST/DAST/SCA tooling, cryptography, authentication, and DevSecOps practices.

Questions

80 scored questions

Time Limit

120 minutes

Passing Score

60-70% (scaled)

Exam Fee

$250 USD (CertNexus / Pearson VUE)

CSC-210 Exam Content Outline

~15%

Identifying Security Requirements

Security requirements gathering, compliance drivers (GDPR, HIPAA, PCI DSS), data classification, privacy-by-design, and secure design principles

~20%

Threat Modeling and Vulnerabilities

STRIDE, PASTA, attack trees, OWASP Top 10 (A01-A10), CWE/CVSS scoring, attack surface analysis, and abuse case modeling

~25%

Secure Design and Implementation

Defense in depth, least privilege, separation of duties, zero trust, input validation (allowlisting, encoding, parameterization), authentication (OAuth 2.0, OIDC, JWT, FIDO2), session management, secrets management (Vault, cloud KMS)

~20%

Cryptography and Data Protection

Symmetric (AES-GCM vs CBC), asymmetric (RSA vs ECC), hashing (bcrypt, argon2, scrypt for passwords; SHA-256 for integrity), TLS 1.3, certificate pinning, encryption at rest and in transit

~20%

Testing and Maintenance

SAST, DAST, IAST, SCA (software composition analysis), dependency scanning, fuzz testing, DevSecOps pipeline integration, secure SDLC (Microsoft SDL, BSIMM, SAMM), patch management

How to Pass the CSC-210 Exam

What You Need to Know

Passing score: 60-70% (scaled)
Exam length: 80 questions
Time limit: 120 minutes
Exam fee: $250 USD

Keys to Passing

Complete 500+ practice questions
Score 80%+ consistently before scheduling
Focus on highest-weighted sections
Use our AI tutor for tough concepts

CSC-210 Study Tips from Top Performers

1Memorize the OWASP Top 10 2021 categories by letter code (A01-A10) and name at least one mitigation per category

2For threat modeling: STRIDE — Spoofing, Tampering, Repudiation, Information disclosure, Denial of service, Elevation of privilege

3Know when to use bcrypt/argon2/scrypt (passwords) vs SHA-256 (file integrity) vs HMAC (message authentication)

4Understand OAuth 2.0 flows: authorization code + PKCE is the default for SPAs and mobile; implicit is deprecated

5Know JWT pitfalls: 'none' algorithm attack, algorithm confusion (RS256 vs HS256), token leakage via URL or localStorage

6Differentiate SAST (source code), DAST (runtime), SCA (dependencies), and IAST (instrumented runtime)

7Practice secure coding exercises: parameterized queries for SQL, output encoding for XSS, CSRF tokens, content security policy

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the CSC-210 exam?

Cyber Secure Coder (CSC-210) is CertNexus's vendor-neutral certification for software developers and DevSecOps practitioners. It validates the ability to identify security requirements, model threats, implement secure designs, apply cryptography correctly, and integrate security testing (SAST, DAST, SCA) throughout the SDLC. It covers OWASP Top 10 mitigations in depth.

How many questions are on CSC-210?

The CSC-210 exam has approximately 80 questions to complete in 120 minutes. Questions are multiple-choice and scenario-based, with emphasis on code review, threat identification, and remediation choices. The passing score is scaled at approximately 60-70%.

Who should take the CSC-210 exam?

CSC-210 is designed for software developers, application security engineers, DevSecOps practitioners, and technical leads who build or maintain production software. It is language-agnostic but covers pitfalls in Python (pickle), Node.js (prototype pollution), Java (deserialization), .NET (ViewState), and C (memory safety). 2+ years of development experience is recommended.

Does CSC-210 cover OWASP Top 10?

Yes — CSC-210 covers the OWASP Top 10 in depth, including Broken Access Control (A01), Cryptographic Failures (A02), Injection (A03), Insecure Design (A04), Security Misconfiguration (A05), Vulnerable Components (A06), Authentication Failures (A07), Data Integrity Failures (A08), Logging Failures (A09), and SSRF (A10). You are expected to identify and remediate each category.

How long is CSC-210 valid?

CSC-210 certification is valid for 3 years from the date you pass. To renew, earn Continuing Education Credits (CECs) through training, conferences, publications, or pass a newer version of the exam. CertNexus charges a renewal fee to maintain the active credential.

How should I prepare for CSC-210?

Plan for 40-70 hours of study over 4-8 weeks if you have 2+ years of development experience. Read the OWASP Top 10 and OWASP ASVS in detail. Practice threat modeling with STRIDE. Review CertNexus's official study materials, complete 160+ practice questions, and work through secure coding exercises in your primary language. Understand modern authentication (OAuth 2.0, OIDC, FIDO2).