Question 749 of 1,152

General Security Concepts →mediumMultiple ChoiceObjective-mapped

Quick Answer

Asymmetric encryption is the correct cryptographic approach because it uses a public key to encrypt data and a corresponding private key to decrypt it, eliminating the need to pre-share a secret. In the scenario, the legal department encrypts the contract with the partner’s public key, ensuring that only the partner’s private key—never transmitted or shared—can unlock the document. This concept is central to the Security+ SY0-701 exam, where you must distinguish asymmetric encryption from symmetric encryption, which relies on a single shared key. A common trap is confusing the roles: remember that encrypting with a public key guarantees confidentiality, while encrypting with a private key provides non-repudiation. For the exam, think of asymmetric encryption as a “lockbox” where anyone can lock it with a public key, but only the owner’s private key can open it. A helpful mnemonic is “Public to Protect, Private to Prove”—the public key protects data in transit, and the private key proves ownership.

SY0-701 General Security Concepts Practice Question

This SY0-701 practice question tests your understanding of general security concepts. 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 legal department sends a confidential contract to an outside partner without first exchanging a shared secret. The sender encrypts the document with the partner's public key so that only the partner can decrypt it with the matching private key. Which cryptographic approach is being used?

Clue words in this question

Noticing these words before you look at the options changes how you read each choice.

Clue: "first"
Why it matters: Order matters here. You are being tested on which action comes before the others — not which action is generally useful.

Question 1mediummultiple choice

Full question →

A
Symmetric encryption
Why wrong: Symmetric encryption would require both parties to already share the same secret key, which the scenario explicitly says they do not.
B
Asymmetric encryption
Asymmetric encryption uses a public key to encrypt data and a corresponding private key to decrypt it. That makes it ideal when two parties have not yet shared a secret. In this scenario, the sender uses the partner's public key so only the partner's private key can open the contract, preserving confidentiality across an untrusted network.
C
Hashing
Why wrong: Hashing can confirm whether data changed, but it does not encrypt the contract or allow the recipient to recover the contents.
D
Digital signatures
Why wrong: Digital signatures verify origin and integrity, but the scenario focuses on keeping the contract confidential from anyone except the intended recipient.

Full breakdown with real-world context →

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

✓

Asymmetric encryption

B is correct because the scenario describes encrypting a document with the recipient's public key, which can only be decrypted by the recipient's private key. This is the defining characteristic of asymmetric encryption (also known as public-key cryptography), where two different but mathematically related keys are used for encryption and decryption.

Key principle: Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.

Answer analysis

Option-by-option breakdown

For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.

✗
Symmetric encryption
Why it's wrong here
Symmetric encryption would require both parties to already share the same secret key, which the scenario explicitly says they do not.
✓
Asymmetric encryption
Why this is correct
Asymmetric encryption uses a public key to encrypt data and a corresponding private key to decrypt it. That makes it ideal when two parties have not yet shared a secret. In this scenario, the sender uses the partner's public key so only the partner's private key can open the contract, preserving confidentiality across an untrusted network.
Clue confirmation
The clue word "first" in the question point toward this answer.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
✗
Hashing
Why it's wrong here
Hashing can confirm whether data changed, but it does not encrypt the contract or allow the recipient to recover the contents.
✗
Digital signatures
Why it's wrong here
Digital signatures verify origin and integrity, but the scenario focuses on keeping the contract confidential from anyone except the intended recipient.

Common exam traps

Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword

The trap here is that candidates may confuse the use of a public key for encryption with a digital signature, which uses the private key for signing, or mistakenly think that any use of a key pair is symmetric encryption.

Trap categories for this question

Scenario analysis trap
Symmetric encryption would require both parties to already share the same secret key, which the scenario explicitly says they do not.

Detailed technical explanation

How to think about this question

Asymmetric encryption relies on key pairs generated by algorithms such as RSA or ECC. The public key is derived from the private key using a one-way mathematical function (e.g., integer factorization for RSA, elliptic curve discrete logarithm for ECC), ensuring that the private key cannot be feasibly computed from the public key. In practice, hybrid cryptosystems (like TLS) often use asymmetric encryption to exchange a symmetric session key, which then encrypts the bulk data for performance.

KKey Concepts to Remember

Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
Find the constraint that changes the correct option.
Eliminate answers that are true in general but not in this case.

TExam Day Tips

Watch for words such as best, first, most likely and least administrative effort.
Review why wrong options are wrong, not only why the correct option is correct.

Key takeaway

Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.

Real-world example

How this comes up in practice

A developer is choosing between AES-256 (symmetric) and RSA-2048 (asymmetric) for encrypting a large file that will be sent to a partner. Symmetric encryption is fast but requires key exchange; asymmetric is slower but solves the key distribution problem. A hybrid approach — encrypt the file with AES, encrypt the AES key with RSA — is standard. Questions like this test whether you understand when each approach applies.

What to study next

Got this wrong? Here's your next step.

Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.

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FAQ

Questions learners often ask

What does this SY0-701 question test?

General Security Concepts — This question tests General Security Concepts — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..

What is the correct answer to this question?

The correct answer is: Asymmetric encryption — B is correct because the scenario describes encrypting a document with the recipient's public key, which can only be decrypted by the recipient's private key. This is the defining characteristic of asymmetric encryption (also known as public-key cryptography), where two different but mathematically related keys are used for encryption and decryption.

What should I do if I get this SY0-701 question wrong?

Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.

Are there clue words in this question I should notice?

Yes — watch for: "first". Order matters here. You are being tested on which action comes before the others — not which action is generally useful.

What is the key concept behind this question?

Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.

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Same concept, more angles

1 more ways this is tested on SY0-701

These questions test the same concept from different angles. Work through them to make sure you can recognise it however the exam phrases it.

Variation 1. A legal team must send a confidential contract to a partner so only the intended recipient can read it, and the partner also needs assurance the file really came from your company. Which approach best meets both needs?

medium

A.Hash the contract and email the hash value separately.
✓ B.Encrypt the file with the recipient's public key and sign it with the sender's private key.
C.Use a shared symmetric key and send the key in the same email message.
D.Compress the file and password-protect the archive with a simple passphrase.

Why B: Option B is correct because it uses asymmetric encryption to ensure confidentiality (encrypting with the recipient's public key ensures only the intended recipient can decrypt it with their private key) and digital signing (signing with the sender's private key provides non-repudiation and authenticity, proving the file came from the sender). This combination directly addresses both requirements: only the partner can read the contract, and the partner can verify the sender's identity.

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