Which term describes an independent examination of cloud service controls to express an opinion on adherence to standards?

• A. Cloud Auditor
• B. Cloud Carrier
• C. Cloud Broker
• D. Cloud Provider

Answer: (A)

The main idea here is independent assessment and assurance. A Cloud Auditor is the party tasked with examining a cloud service’s controls independently and then providing an opinion on whether those controls meet relevant standards and frameworks. This role focuses on objectivity, testing control environments, and issuing formal assurance reports (such as SOC 2-type reports or ISO 27001 attestations) to give customers confidence in the provider’s security and governance practices. The other terms describe other parts of the cloud ecosystem: a Cloud Carrier handles data transport, a Cloud Broker helps customers select and combine services, and a Cloud Provider delivers the cloud services themselves. So the term for an independent examination and opinion on adherence to standards is Cloud Auditor.