CCSP Cloud Data Security Practice Question
A financial services company stores customer transaction data in a cloud object storage service. The security team wants to ensure that if a malicious insider gains access to the storage bucket, they cannot read the data. Which encryption approach provides the highest level of protection against the cloud provider and insiders?
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
✓
Client-side encryption using a customer-managed key
Client-side encryption means data is encrypted before it is uploaded to the cloud. The cloud provider never has access to the encryption keys, and data remains encrypted at rest and in transit (if TLS is also used). This protects against both the cloud provider and insiders with administrative access to the storage service.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✓
Client-side encryption using a customer-managed key
Why this is correct
Client-side encryption ensures data is encrypted before upload; the cloud never sees plaintext, and keys are managed by the customer.
- ✗
Server-side encryption with AES-256 (SSE-S3)
Why it's wrong here
Server-side encryption encrypts data at rest, but the cloud provider manages the keys and can decrypt data if needed.
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Server-side encryption with customer-provided keys (SSE-C)
Why it's wrong here
SSE-C allows customers to provide their own keys, but the cloud service still performs encryption/decryption, and keys must be sent to the cloud.
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Transport Layer Security (TLS) for data in transit
Why it's wrong here
TLS protects data in transit only; data is stored in plaintext in the cloud.
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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.