VA-003 Explain encryption as a service Practice Question
A developer wants to encrypt data using Vault's transit engine with a key named 'payment-key'. The key already exists and is set to allow encryption. Which API path should the developer use to encrypt the data?
⚠ Common exam trap
HashiCorp often tests the distinction between key management endpoints (like `/keys/`) and cryptographic operation endpoints (like `/encrypt/`), trapping candidates who confuse managing the key with using the key to encrypt data.
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
✓
POST /v1/transit/encrypt/payment-key
The Vault transit engine exposes the `/v1/transit/encrypt/<key_name>` endpoint for encrypting plaintext data using a named encryption key. Since the key 'payment-key' already exists and is allowed to encrypt, a POST request to this path will perform the encryption operation and return the ciphertext.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
POST /v1/transit/decrypt/payment-key
Why it's wrong here
Path for decryption.
- ✗
POST /v1/transit/rewrap/payment-key
Why it's wrong here
Path for rewrapping.
- ✗
POST /v1/transit/keys/payment-key
Why it's wrong here
Path for key management.
- ✓
POST /v1/transit/encrypt/payment-key
Why this is correct
Correct path for encryption.
Go deeper
Related to this question
About these practice questions
Courseiva writes every VA-003 question from scratch — 498 in total, each with an explanation and a wrong-answer breakdown. None are copied from real exams or dumps. Learn why practice questions differ from exam dumps →
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.