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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.
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It requires complex key management
Why it's wrong here
TDE encrypts data at rest within the database files, but the encryption keys are managed by the database engine itself, so the auditor cannot verify separation of duties or that keys are stored outside the database. Key management complexity is a genuine concern for any encryption deployment, including TDE, so it does not distinguish TDE's specific risk here.
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It significantly degrades database performance
Why it's wrong here
TDE overhead is modest because encryption and decryption occur at the storage layer, so significant performance degradation is not a key risk. It tempts because any added cryptographic processing is assumed to impose a heavy database workload penalty.
- ✓
It does not protect against privileged database users
Why this is correct
TDE encrypts data at rest beneath the database engine, so decryption occurs transparently for anyone with valid database privileges. A privileged user or DBA querying the database sees plaintext, meaning TDE provides no protection against insider misuse, satisfying the question's key-risk requirement.
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It cannot be used with column-level encryption
Why it's wrong here
TDE operates at the database or tablespace level and coexists with column-level encryption, so this is not a TDE risk. It tempts because TDE encrypts data at rest broadly, which can appear to preclude finer-grained column encryption.
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Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
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