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CISA Practice Question: Are effective controls to protect sensitive data…
Which of the following are effective controls to protect sensitive data in use? (Choose TWO.)
⚠ Common exam trap
It's easy for candidates to confuse controls for data in transit (TLS) or data at rest (ACLs, hashing) with controls for data in use, failing to recognize that homomorphic encryption and dynamic data masking are specifically designed to protect data during active processing.
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
✓
Homomorphic encryption
Homomorphic encryption allows computations to be performed directly on encrypted data without decrypting it first, thereby protecting the data while it is in use. This is a critical control for scenarios where sensitive data must be processed by untrusted environments, as the plaintext is never exposed during processing.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Transport Layer Security (TLS)
Why it's wrong here
TLS protects data in transit, not in use.
- ✗
Access control lists (ACLs)
Why it's wrong here
ACLs control access to stored data, not data in use.
- ✓
Homomorphic encryption
Why this is correct
Homomorphic encryption allows computations on ciphertext without decrypting.
- ✓
Data masking
Why this is correct
Data masking obscures data while in use in non-production environments.
- ✗
Hashing
Why it's wrong here
Hashing is typically used for integrity verification, not for protecting data in use.
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JA
Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
This CISA 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 CISA exam.