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CISA Practice Question: An auditor is reviewing the encryption strategy…
An auditor is reviewing the encryption strategy for a healthcare application that stores protected health information (PHI) in a database. The database currently uses transparent data encryption (TDE). What is a key risk associated with TDE?
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
✓
It does not protect against privileged database users
TDE protects data at rest but does not protect against privileged database users because decryption happens transparently at the database level, allowing authorized users (e.g., DBAs) to access plaintext. This is a key risk, as it does not provide access control. Option A is wrong because key management is a consideration but not the primary risk. Option B is wrong because performance impact is typically minor with modern hardware. Option D is wrong because TDE can coexist with column-level encryption, but column-level encryption is not a substitute for the overall risk.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
It requires complex key management
Why it's wrong here
Key management is a consideration but not the primary risk related to user access.
- ✗
It significantly degrades database performance
Why it's wrong here
Performance impact is usually acceptable.
- ✓
It does not protect against privileged database users
Why this is correct
TDE encrypts data at rest but decrypts when accessed by authorized users, so DBA's can still see data.
- ✗
It cannot be used with column-level encryption
Why it's wrong here
TDE can coexist with column-level encryption.
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JA
Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
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