CV0-004 Cloud Architecture and Design Practice Question
A healthcare company must ensure that patient records stored in a public cloud are encrypted at rest and that the company alone controls the keys used for encryption, including the ability to revoke access immediately if an employee leaves. Which key management approach BEST satisfies these requirements?
⚠ Common exam trap
The trap here is treating encryption in transit as equivalent to encryption at rest, when they protect data in different states.
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
✓
Use customer-managed keys stored in a cloud key management service with granular access policies.
Customer-managed keys in a cloud key management service give the healthcare company ownership of the key material and policy-based control over who may use it. Revoking a departing employee's key permissions blocks decryption immediately, and the organization can rotate or disable keys on its own schedule, satisfying both encryption-at-rest and exclusive key custody.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Enable transport layer security for all connections and rely on it to protect stored patient records.
Why it's wrong here
Transport layer security protects data in motion between clients and servers, but it does not encrypt data at rest on storage media. Once records are written to disk, TLS offers no protection. This option addresses a different requirement entirely and leaves stored patient records unencrypted, failing the encryption-at-rest mandate.
- ✗
Use provider-managed encryption keys that the cloud vendor generates and rotates automatically.
Why it's wrong here
Provider-managed keys encrypt data at rest, but the cloud vendor holds and controls the key material rather than the customer. The healthcare company cannot independently revoke access or prove sole control, which conflicts with the requirement for exclusive key custody. This option satisfies encryption but not the control and revocation mandates.
- ✓
Use customer-managed keys stored in a cloud key management service with granular access policies.
Why this is correct
Customer-managed keys in a key management service let the organization own the key material and define access through policies. Revoking a user's permission to the key immediately removes their ability to decrypt data, and the company can rotate or disable keys itself. This meets both the encryption-at-rest and exclusive-control requirements.
- ✗
Encrypt data with a symmetric key hardcoded in the application source code stored in the repository.
Why it's wrong here
Hardcoding a key in source code exposes it to anyone with repository access, defeats key rotation, and makes revocation nearly impossible without redeploying the application. It provides no separation between key custody and data access, so it fails both the security and the exclusive-control requirements. This is a well-known anti-pattern for cryptographic key handling.
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JA
Written and reviewed by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
Last reviewed September 2026 · checked against the official CompTIA exam blueprint
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