VA-003 Explain encryption as a service Practice Question
A company uses Vault transit to encrypt secrets. They want to periodically rotate the encryption key to comply with compliance requirements. Which TWO actions should be taken? (Choose two.)
⚠ Common exam trap
HashiCorp often tests the misconception that you must delete old key versions immediately after rotation, but the correct practice is to keep them until all ciphertext is rewrapped to avoid data loss.
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
✓
Rewrap all existing ciphertext with the new key version.
Vault's `vault rewrap` command re-encrypts existing ciphertext with the latest key version without decrypting the underlying plaintext, preserving the data's confidentiality. This is essential after a key rotation to ensure all ciphertext uses the new key, meeting compliance requirements for periodic key rotation.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Update the min_decryption_version to the newest version immediately.
Why it's wrong here
This would prevent decryption of any data encrypted with older versions.
- ✗
Export the key and re-encrypt all data manually.
Why it's wrong here
Unnecessary and introduces security risk; rewrapping is sufficient.
- ✓
Rewrap all existing ciphertext with the new key version.
Why this is correct
Rewrapping updates ciphertext to the new version without revealing plaintext.
- ✗
Delete old key versions after rotation.
Why it's wrong here
Deleting old versions prematurely can cause data loss if not all data is rewrapped.
- ✓
Rotate the key using Vault's key rotation endpoint.
Why this is correct
Rotation creates a new version while keeping old versions.
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JA
Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
This VA-003 practice question is part of Courseiva's free HashiCorp 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 VA-003 exam.