VA-003 Explain encryption as a service Practice Question
A developer wants to encrypt a string "hello" using Vault's transit engine. What must they send in the API request?
⚠ Common exam trap
HashiCorp often tests the requirement for base64 encoding of plaintext in transit engine operations, trapping candidates who assume raw bytes or ciphertext are acceptable inputs.
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
✓
The plaintext "hello" as a base64 encoded string
E is correct because Vault's transit engine requires plaintext to be base64-encoded before encryption. The API endpoint expects the plaintext as a base64-encoded string in the `plaintext` field of the request body. This ensures binary-safe transmission and consistent encoding across different systems.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
The ciphertext of "hello"
Why it's wrong here
That would be for decryption.
- ✗
Both the key name and the ciphertext
Why it's wrong here
Key name is in URL, and ciphertext is not used for encryption.
- ✗
A reference to the key
Why it's wrong here
The key name is part of the URL, not the request body.
- ✗
The plaintext "hello" in raw bytes
Why it's wrong here
Raw bytes are not accepted; must be base64.
- ✓
The plaintext "hello" as a base64 encoded string
Why this is correct
Correct, the API expects base64-encoded plaintext.
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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.