The answer is to retain the data and inform the data subject of the conflicting legal obligation. This is correct because the GDPR right to erasure is not absolute; Article 17 explicitly allows data controllers to refuse deletion when processing is necessary for compliance with a legal obligation or the establishment, exercise, or defense of legal claims. When a legal hold under country Y’s law directly conflicts with an erasure request, the legal hold takes precedence as a superseding legal requirement, and transparency with the data subject fulfills the GDPR’s accountability principle. On the CompTIA SecurityX CAS-004 exam, this scenario tests your understanding of balancing privacy rights against legal compliance obligations, often appearing as a trick question where candidates mistakenly choose to partially delete or escalate prematurely. A common trap is assuming GDPR always overrides local laws, but the regulation itself carves out exceptions for legal holds. Memory tip: “Hold the data, hold the line” — legal holds always trump erasure requests until the hold is lifted.
CAS-004 Governance, Risk and Compliance Practice Question
This CAS-004 practice question tests your understanding of governance, risk and compliance. Read the scenario carefully and evaluate each option against the stated constraints before committing to an answer. After answering, compare your reasoning against the explanation and wrong-answer breakdown below. Once you have made your selection, read the full explanation to reinforce the concept and understand why each distractor is designed to mislead on exam day.
A multinational organization is subject to GDPR and local data protection laws. A data subject from country X requests deletion of personal data, but the data is also required for a legal hold under country Y's law. What is the BEST course of action?
Clue words in this question
Noticing these words before you look at the options changes how you read each choice.
Clue: "best"
Why it matters: Signals that multiple options may be partially correct. Choose the option that most directly solves the exact problem described, not the one that sounds most complete.
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Retain the data and inform the data subject of the conflicting legal obligation
Informing the data subject of the conflicting legal obligation is transparent and complies with both laws. Option A violates the legal hold; Option C may not satisfy either requirement; Option D should be a last resort.
Key principle: NAT direction and interface roles matter as much as the IP address mapping. Inside/outside designation controls which traffic is translated.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
✗
Anonymize the data to satisfy both requirements
Why it's wrong here
Anonymization may not satisfy the legal hold.
✗
Escalate to the data protection authority
Why it's wrong here
Escalation is premature without first informing the data subject.
✓
Retain the data and inform the data subject of the conflicting legal obligation
Why this is correct
This balances compliance requirements transparently.
Clue confirmation
The clue word "best" in the question point toward this answer.
Related concept
Static NAT maps one inside address to one outside address.
✗
Delete the data to comply with GDPR
Why it's wrong here
Deletion would violate the legal hold requirement.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: NAT rules depend on direction and matching traffic
NAT is not only about the public address. The inside/outside interface roles and the ACL or rule that matches traffic are just as important.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
NAT questions usually test address translation, overload/PAT behaviour, static mappings and whether the right traffic is being translated. Read the interface direction and address terms carefully.
KKey Concepts to Remember
Static NAT maps one inside address to one outside address.
PAT allows many inside hosts to share one public address using ports.
Inside local and inside global describe the private and translated addresses.
NAT ACLs identify traffic for translation, not always security filtering.
TExam Day Tips
→Identify inside and outside interfaces first.
→Check whether the scenario needs static NAT, dynamic NAT or PAT.
→Do not confuse NAT matching ACLs with normal packet-filtering intent.
Key takeaway
NAT direction and interface roles matter as much as the IP address mapping. Inside/outside designation controls which traffic is translated.
Real-world example
How this comes up in practice
A small business has 20 workstations on the 192.168.1.0/24 network and one public IP from its ISP. The router uses PAT (NAT overload) so all 20 devices share one public address using different source ports. NAT questions test whether you understand the four address terms and which direction each translation applies.
What to study next
Got this wrong? Here's your next step.
Review the four NAT address types (inside local, inside global, outside local, outside global), PAT port overload, and static vs dynamic NAT use cases. Then practise related CAS-004 NAT questions on configuration and troubleshooting.
Governance, Risk and Compliance — This question tests Governance, Risk and Compliance — Static NAT maps one inside address to one outside address..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Retain the data and inform the data subject of the conflicting legal obligation — Informing the data subject of the conflicting legal obligation is transparent and complies with both laws. Option A violates the legal hold; Option C may not satisfy either requirement; Option D should be a last resort.
What should I do if I get this CAS-004 question wrong?
Review the four NAT address types (inside local, inside global, outside local, outside global), PAT port overload, and static vs dynamic NAT use cases. Then practise related CAS-004 NAT questions on configuration and troubleshooting.
Are there clue words in this question I should notice?
Yes — watch for: "best". Signals that multiple options may be partially correct. Choose the option that most directly solves the exact problem described, not the one that sounds most complete.
What is the key concept behind this question?
Static NAT maps one inside address to one outside address.
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