- A
Encrypt all stored passwords with AES and keep one shared key
Why wrong: AES is reversible encryption, so passwords would still be recoverable if the key were exposed. It also does not solve identical-value storage by itself.
- B
Use SHA-256 without a salt
Why wrong: A plain hash without a salt still produces the same output for the same password, and it remains vulnerable to rainbow-table attacks.
- C
Store each password with a unique salt and an adaptive hash such as bcrypt or Argon2
A unique salt prevents two users with the same password from producing the same stored value, which makes identical passwords harder to spot. Salting also defeats rainbow-table attacks because precomputed hashes no longer match. An adaptive hash adds deliberate computational cost, slowing offline cracking after a breach. Together, these are the standard protections for password storage.
- D
Add a digital signature to each password record
Why wrong: Digital signatures prove origin and integrity for files or messages, but they are not a password storage mechanism.
Quick Answer
The correct choice is to store each password with a unique salt and an adaptive hash such as bcrypt or Argon2. This directly addresses both issues because a unique salt per user ensures that even identical passwords like "Summer2026!" produce completely different hash values, eliminating the repeated-value problem, while adaptive hashing functions are deliberately slow and resource-intensive, making precomputed rainbow tables computationally infeasible even if salts are exposed. On the Security+ SY0-701 exam, this concept tests your understanding of secure password storage under domain 2.0 (Architecture and Design), often appearing in scenario-based questions about database breaches or credential theft. A common trap is confusing salting with hashing alone—remember that salt prevents identical passwords from matching, but only an adaptive hash like bcrypt or Argon2 provides the necessary work factor to defeat rainbow tables. Memory tip: "Salt for uniqueness, adaptive hash for slowness."
SY0-701 General Security Concepts Practice Question
This SY0-701 practice question tests your understanding of general security concepts. The scenario asks you to isolate a root cause — eliminate options that address a different problem before choosing. 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 user database is stolen from a SaaS portal. Investigators discover the password column contains the same value for every user who chose "Summer2026!", and an attacker could use precomputed tables to crack weak passwords quickly. Which change best addresses both the repeated-value issue and rainbow-table risk?
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 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
Store each password with a unique salt and an adaptive hash such as bcrypt or Argon2
Option C is correct because using a unique salt per password ensures that even if two users choose the same password (e.g., 'Summer2026!'), their stored hashes will differ, eliminating the repeated-value issue. Additionally, adaptive hash functions like bcrypt or Argon2 are computationally expensive, making precomputed rainbow tables infeasible even if the salts were known, as each guess requires re-hashing with the specific salt.
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.
- ✗
Encrypt all stored passwords with AES and keep one shared key
Why it's wrong here
AES is reversible encryption, so passwords would still be recoverable if the key were exposed. It also does not solve identical-value storage by itself.
- ✗
Use SHA-256 without a salt
Why it's wrong here
A plain hash without a salt still produces the same output for the same password, and it remains vulnerable to rainbow-table attacks.
- ✓
Store each password with a unique salt and an adaptive hash such as bcrypt or Argon2
Why this is correct
A unique salt prevents two users with the same password from producing the same stored value, which makes identical passwords harder to spot. Salting also defeats rainbow-table attacks because precomputed hashes no longer match. An adaptive hash adds deliberate computational cost, slowing offline cracking after a breach. Together, these are the standard protections for password storage.
Clue confirmation
The clue word "best" in the question point toward this answer.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
- ✗
Add a digital signature to each password record
Why it's wrong here
Digital signatures prove origin and integrity for files or messages, but they are not a password storage mechanism.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
CompTIA often tests the misconception that encryption (A) or a stronger hash like SHA-256 (B) is sufficient for password storage, but the trap is that encryption is reversible and unsalted hashes are still vulnerable to rainbow tables, whereas the correct answer requires both salting and an adaptive, slow hash function.
Trap categories for this question
Command / output trap
A plain hash without a salt still produces the same output for the same password, and it remains vulnerable to rainbow-table attacks.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
A salt is a random, per-user value (typically 16+ bytes) concatenated with the password before hashing, ensuring that identical passwords yield distinct hashes. Adaptive hashing algorithms like bcrypt (based on Blowfish) or Argon2 (winner of the Password Hashing Competition) incorporate a cost factor (e.g., bcrypt's rounds parameter) that deliberately slows down each hash computation, making brute-force and rainbow-table attacks economically unviable. In practice, a breach of a SaaS database with unsalted SHA-256 hashes can be cracked in minutes using precomputed tables like those in the RainbowCrack project, whereas salted bcrypt with a cost of 10 would take centuries for the same set of common passwords.
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: Store each password with a unique salt and an adaptive hash such as bcrypt or Argon2 — Option C is correct because using a unique salt per password ensures that even if two users choose the same password (e.g., 'Summer2026!'), their stored hashes will differ, eliminating the repeated-value issue. Additionally, adaptive hash functions like bcrypt or Argon2 are computationally expensive, making precomputed rainbow tables infeasible even if the salts were known, as each guess requires re-hashing with the specific salt.
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: "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?
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
About these practice questions
Courseiva creates original exam-style practice questions with explanations and wrong-answer analysis. It does not publish real exam questions, exam dumps, or protected exam content. Learn why practice questions differ from exam dumps →
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 security team stores employee passwords in a database. Which method best protects the passwords if the database is stolen?
easy- A.Store the passwords in plain text so users can recover them easily.
- ✓ B.Hash the passwords with a unique salt for each account.
- C.Encrypt the passwords and keep the decryption key in the same database.
- D.Compress the passwords before storing them to make them smaller.
Why B: Option B is correct because hashing with a unique salt per account ensures that even if two users have the same password, their hashes will differ, and precomputed rainbow table attacks are rendered ineffective. The salt is stored alongside the hash, but the one-way nature of the hash function means an attacker cannot reverse the hash to recover the original password without performing an expensive brute-force search for each salted hash individually.
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Last reviewed: Jun 30, 2026
This SY0-701 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 SY0-701 exam.
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