CDPSE Privacy Engineering Practice Question
When using 'k-anonymity' to protect a dataset, what does the parameter 'k' represent?
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 minimum number of records sharing the same quasi-identifiers
k-anonymity ensures that any individual in the dataset cannot be distinguished from at least k-1 other individuals.
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 number of attributes removed
Why it's wrong here
This refers to suppression or generalization, not the k value.
- ✗
The level of noise added to the data
Why it's wrong here
Noise is a feature of differential privacy, not k-anonymity.
- ✓
The minimum number of records sharing the same quasi-identifiers
Why this is correct
Each record must be indistinguishable from k-1 other records.
- ✗
The total number of rows in the dataset
Why it's wrong here
k is a threshold value, not a count of the total records.
About these practice questions
Courseiva writes every CDPSE question from scratch — 215 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 and reviewed by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
Last reviewed August 2026 · checked against the official ISACA exam blueprint
This CDPSE practice question is part of Courseiva's free ISACA 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 CDPSE exam.