CV0-004 Security Practice Question
A cloud customer needs to ensure that data stored in an object storage bucket is encrypted at rest. The customer wants to manage the encryption keys themselves. Which encryption option should they choose?
⚠ Common exam trap
CompTIA Cloud+ often tests the distinction between server-side and client-side encryption, where candidates mistakenly choose client-side encryption because they think 'managing keys' means encrypting on the client, but the question explicitly requires encryption at rest in object storage, which is server-side.
Answer choices
Why each option matters
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Server-side encryption with customer-provided keys
Server-side encryption with customer-provided keys allows the customer to manage their own encryption keys while the cloud provider handles the encryption and decryption process. The customer provides the encryption key as part of the upload request, and the provider uses it to encrypt the object at rest, then discards the key after the operation. This meets the requirement of managing the keys themselves while ensuring data is encrypted at rest on the server side.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Server-side encryption with provider-managed keys
Why it's wrong here
AWS manages the keys, not the customer.
- ✓
Server-side encryption with customer-provided keys
Why this is correct
SSE-C allows the customer to provide their own encryption keys, which AWS uses and then discards.
- ✗
Server-side encryption with key management service
Why it's wrong here
AWS KMS manages keys, but the customer can create and manage them through KMS; however, the key material is stored in KMS.
- ✗
Client-side encryption
Why it's wrong here
Client-side encryption encrypts data before sending to S3, but the question asks for encryption at rest managed by the customer on the server side.
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JA
Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
This CV0-004 practice question is part of Courseiva's free CompTIA certification practice question bank. Courseiva provides original exam-style practice questions with explanations, topic-based practice, mock exams, readiness tracking, and study analytics to help learners prepare for the CV0-004 exam.