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CCSP Practice Question: A healthcare organization is migrating sensitive…
A healthcare organization is migrating sensitive patient data to a public cloud. The compliance team requires that data be encrypted at rest and in transit, and that the cloud provider cannot access the encryption keys. Which cloud service model should the organization use to maintain sole control over encryption keys?
⚠ Common exam trap
ISC2 often tests the distinction between service models (IaaS, PaaS, SaaS) and deployment models (public, private, hybrid), so the trap here is that candidates mistakenly choose Hybrid Cloud (Option C) because they think it allows key control, but it is a deployment model that does not guarantee sole key management in the public cloud component.
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
✓
Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS)
IaaS provides the customer with full control over the underlying infrastructure, including virtual machines, storage, and networking. This allows the organization to implement their own encryption mechanisms and manage their own keys using a Hardware Security Module (HSM) or a key management service (KMS) that the cloud provider cannot access. In contrast, SaaS and PaaS typically abstract away the infrastructure, limiting customer control over encryption key management.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Software as a Service (SaaS)
Why it's wrong here
SaaS providers typically manage encryption and may have access to keys.
- ✓
Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS)
Why this is correct
IaaS gives the customer control over the OS, storage, and encryption keys.
- ✗
Hybrid Cloud
Why it's wrong here
Hybrid is a deployment model, not a service model, and does not directly address key control.
- ✗
Platform as a Service (PaaS)
Why it's wrong here
PaaS abstracts the underlying infrastructure, often limiting customer control over encryption keys.
Quick reference
Cloud Service Model Comparison
| Model | You Manage | Provider Manages | Examples |
|---|---|---|---|
| IaaS | OS, runtime, apps, data | Hardware, hypervisor, networking | EC2, Azure VMs, GCP Compute Engine |
| PaaS | Apps and data | OS, runtime, middleware, hardware | Elastic Beanstalk, Azure App Service |
| SaaS | Data and settings only | Everything else | Microsoft 365, Salesforce, Workday |
| FaaS / Serverless | Function code only | Infra, scaling, runtime | Lambda, Azure Functions, Cloud Run |
| CaaS | Containers and apps | Kubernetes, OS, hardware | EKS, AKS, GKE |
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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.