ISC Security Planning And Engineering Practice Question
You are designing a secure microservices architecture. To meet the 'Data at Rest' security requirements, you decide to use envelope encryption. Which sequence correctly describes the flow of managing the Data Encryption Key (DEK)?
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
✓
Encrypt data with DEK, encrypt DEK with KEK, store encrypted DEK with data.
Envelope encryption involves encrypting data with a DEK, then encrypting the DEK with a Key Encryption Key (KEK), storing the encrypted DEK alongside the data.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Encrypt data with KEK, encrypt KEK with DEK, store KEK in HSM.
Why it's wrong here
This reverses the roles of the keys and would not scale securely.
- ✗
Encrypt data with HSM-stored master key, store master key in memory.
Why it's wrong here
Storing master keys in memory is a security vulnerability, and this does not utilize envelope encryption.
- ✗
Generate new DEK for every block, store all DEKs in a database.
Why it's wrong here
While possible, it is not standard envelope encryption and creates significant key management overhead.
- ✓
Encrypt data with DEK, encrypt DEK with KEK, store encrypted DEK with data.
Why this is correct
This is the standard definition of envelope encryption used in KMS architectures.
About these practice questions
This ISC question is part of Courseiva's 209-question bank — original exam-style content with full explanations and wrong-answer analysis, never real exam questions or exam 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 (ISC)² exam blueprint
This ISC practice question is part of Courseiva's free (ISC)² 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 ISC exam.