Best Stress Testing Environment for Data Security

B.

The best way to properly verify an application or system during a stress test would be to expose it to "live" data that has been sanitized to avoid exposing any sensitive information or Personally Identifiable Data (PII) while in a testing environment.Fabricated test data may not be as varied, complex or computationally demanding as "live" data.A production environment should never be used to test a product, as a production environment is one where the application or system is being put to commercial or operational use.It is a best practice to perform testing in a non-production environment.

Stress testing is carried out to ensure a system can cope with production workloads, but as it may be tested to destruction, a test environment should always be used to avoid damaging the production environment.Hence, testing should never take place in a production environment.If only test data is used, there is no certainty that the system was adequately stress tested.

Incorrect answers: Test environment using test data.

This is incorrect because live data is typically more useful during stress testing Production environment using test data.

This is incorrect because the production environment should not be used for testing.

Production environment using live workloads.

This is incorrect because the production environment should not be used for testing.

Source: Information Systems Audit and Control Association, Certified Information Systems Auditor 2002 review manual, chapter 6: Business Application System Development, Acquisition, Implementation and Maintenance (page 299)

And: KRUTZ, Ronald L.

& VINES, Russel.

D., The CISSP Prep Guide: Mastering the Ten Domains of Computer Security, 2001, John Wiley & Sons, Page 251

And:

The BEST stress testing environment would be a test environment using sanitized live workloads data. This option provides the most realistic environment for stress testing while also minimizing the risk of data exposure and leaks of sensitive data.

Option A, a test environment using test data, would not provide an accurate representation of how the system would perform under real-world conditions. It may not include all of the possible scenarios that could occur in a production environment, and the test data may not be representative of the live data.

Option C, a production environment using test data, is also not recommended for stress testing because it could potentially expose sensitive data to unauthorized users. Production environments should be reserved for live data and should not be used for testing purposes.

Option D, a production environment using sanitized live workloads data, also poses a risk of data exposure and leaks of sensitive data. Although the live data would provide an accurate representation of the system's performance under real-world conditions, sanitizing the data may not be enough to prevent sensitive information from being exposed.

In conclusion, the best option for stress testing would be a test environment using sanitized live workloads data, as it provides the most realistic testing environment while minimizing the risk of data exposure and leaks of sensitive data.