hardMultiple ChoiceObjective-mapped
CCSP Deterministic Encryption Practice Question
A financial services company is migrating a critical database to the cloud. The database contains columns with PII that must be encrypted. Performance is the highest priority, and the system must support queries on encrypted data. Which technique should be used?
⚠ Common exam trap
A common trap is thinking TDE supports queries on encrypted data, but TDE decrypts data during queries, failing the requirement. Another trap is confusing tokenization with encryption; tokenization does not encrypt the data itself.
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
✓
Application-level encryption
Application-level encryption is the correct technique because it can encrypt PII columns using deterministic encryption (e.g., AES-SIV) that allows equality queries on ciphertext without decryption, maintaining high performance with proper indexing. Tokenization is not encryption—it replaces data with tokens, and the original data is not encrypted. TDE decrypts data on access, so queries run on plaintext, not encrypted data. Hashing is one-way and not reversible.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Hashing
Why it's wrong here
Hashing is a one-way function that cannot retrieve original data; it is not suitable for reversible encryption required here.
- ✓
Application-level encryption
Why this is correct
Application-level encryption can be implemented with deterministic encryption algorithms that support equality queries on ciphertext, meeting the requirement for querying encrypted data with minimal performance overhead.
- ✗
Transparent Data Encryption (TDE)
Why it's wrong here
Transparent Data Encryption (TDE) encrypts data at rest but decrypts it when accessed, so queries operate on plaintext, not encrypted data, failing the 'query on encrypted data' requirement.
- ✗
Tokenization
Why it's wrong here
Tokenization replaces sensitive PII with non-sensitive tokens, but it is not encryption; the original data is not encrypted and the token mapping must be securely stored. The question requires encryption, not replacement.
Quick reference
Symmetric Encryption Algorithm Comparison
| Algorithm | Key Size | Block Size | Status | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| AES-128 | 128-bit | 128-bit | Current standard | NIST approved; WPA3, TLS |
| AES-256 | 256-bit | 128-bit | Current standard | Preferred for sensitive / govt data |
| 3DES | 112-bit effective | 64-bit | Deprecated (2023) | Replaced by AES |
| DES | 56-bit | 64-bit | Broken | Cracked in < 24 h; never deploy |
| ChaCha20 | 256-bit | Stream cipher | Current | TLS 1.3, WireGuard |
Go deeper
Related to this question
About these practice questions
This CCSP question is part of Courseiva's 964-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 by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
This CCSP practice question is part of Courseiva's free ISC2 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 CCSP exam.