This CCSP practice question tests your understanding of cloud data security. The scenario asks you to isolate a root cause — eliminate options that address a different problem before choosing. After answering, compare your reasoning against the explanation and wrong-answer breakdown below. Once you have made your selection, read the full explanation to reinforce the concept and understand why each distractor is designed to mislead on exam day.
An enterprise uses a cloud-based relational database service (e.g., AWS RDS) to store customer order data. The database is encrypted at rest using the cloud provider's default encryption. The security team is concerned about the risk of a rogue database administrator (DBA) exfiltrating data by creating unencrypted backups or snapshots and moving them to a different account. Which of the following controls would BEST mitigate this risk while maintaining operational efficiency?
Clue words in this question
Noticing these words before you look at the options changes how you read each choice.
Clue: "best"
Why it matters: Signals that multiple options may be partially correct. Choose the option that most directly solves the exact problem described, not the one that sounds most complete.
Use a customer-managed key (CMK) in KMS and configure the database to use that key for encryption, and restrict the DBA's IAM permissions to prevent using the key on snapshots.
Ensures snapshots are encrypted and DBA cannot decrypt them without key permission.
B
Disable the ability for any user to create database snapshots.
Why wrong: Prevents legitimate backup needs; not operationally feasible.
C
Implement database activity monitoring (DAM) to alert on snapshot creation.
Why wrong: Detective control; does not prevent the actual exfiltration.
D
Enable automatic snapshot encryption and ensure that only the database service role can access snapshots.
Why wrong: DBA could still move encrypted snapshots; decryption key access may be misconfigured.
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Use a customer-managed key (CMK) in KMS and configure the database to use that key for encryption, and restrict the DBA's IAM permissions to prevent using the key on snapshots.
Option A is correct because using a customer-managed key (CMK) in AWS KMS allows the organization to attach a key policy that explicitly denies the DBA's IAM role the kms:Decrypt permission on the CMK when used with snapshot operations. This prevents the DBA from creating an unencrypted snapshot or from copying an encrypted snapshot to another account, as the snapshot would remain encrypted with the CMK and the DBA cannot decrypt it. This maintains operational efficiency because the DBA can still perform routine database management tasks (e.g., creating backups) but cannot exfiltrate data via snapshots.
Key principle: Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
✓
Use a customer-managed key (CMK) in KMS and configure the database to use that key for encryption, and restrict the DBA's IAM permissions to prevent using the key on snapshots.
Why this is correct
Ensures snapshots are encrypted and DBA cannot decrypt them without key permission.
Clue confirmation
The clue word "best" in the question point toward this answer.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
✗
Disable the ability for any user to create database snapshots.
Why it's wrong here
Prevents legitimate backup needs; not operationally feasible.
✗
Implement database activity monitoring (DAM) to alert on snapshot creation.
Why it's wrong here
Detective control; does not prevent the actual exfiltration.
✗
Enable automatic snapshot encryption and ensure that only the database service role can access snapshots.
Why it's wrong here
DBA could still move encrypted snapshots; decryption key access may be misconfigured.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
ISC2 often tests the misconception that enabling automatic encryption or monitoring alone is sufficient to prevent data exfiltration by a privileged insider, when in reality only a combination of customer-managed keys with strict key policies and IAM permission boundaries can block the DBA's ability to decrypt or re-encrypt snapshots for exfiltration.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
Under the hood, AWS KMS supports grant-based access control where a CMK can have a key policy that includes a condition like 'kms:ViaService' to restrict decryption to specific AWS services, but for snapshot exfiltration, the key policy must explicitly deny 'kms:Decrypt' for the DBA's IAM role when the operation is 'CreateDBSnapshot' or 'CopyDBSnapshot'. A real-world scenario is when a DBA uses the AWS CLI to run 'aws rds create-db-snapshot --db-instance-identifier mydb --snapshot-identifier myexfil' and then 'aws rds copy-db-snapshot --source-db-snapshot-identifier myexfil --target-db-snapshot-identifier myexfilcopy --destination-region us-west-2 --kms-key-id alias/otherkey' — without the CMK restriction, the DBA could copy the snapshot to another account by specifying a different KMS key. The subtle behavior is that the DBA could also use the 'ModifyDBInstance' API to disable encryption on the instance itself, but that would require the 'rds:ModifyDBInstance' permission and would fail if the instance is already encrypted with a CMK that the DBA cannot modify.
KKey Concepts to Remember
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
Find the constraint that changes the correct option.
Eliminate answers that are true in general but not in this case.
TExam Day Tips
→Watch for words such as best, first, most likely and least administrative effort.
→Review why wrong options are wrong, not only why the correct option is correct.
Key takeaway
Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Real-world example
How this comes up in practice
A developer is choosing between AES-256 (symmetric) and RSA-2048 (asymmetric) for encrypting a large file that will be sent to a partner. Symmetric encryption is fast but requires key exchange; asymmetric is slower but solves the key distribution problem. A hybrid approach — encrypt the file with AES, encrypt the AES key with RSA — is standard. Questions like this test whether you understand when each approach applies.
What to study next
Got this wrong? Here's your next step.
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
Cloud Data Security — This question tests Cloud Data Security — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Use a customer-managed key (CMK) in KMS and configure the database to use that key for encryption, and restrict the DBA's IAM permissions to prevent using the key on snapshots. — Option A is correct because using a customer-managed key (CMK) in AWS KMS allows the organization to attach a key policy that explicitly denies the DBA's IAM role the kms:Decrypt permission on the CMK when used with snapshot operations. This prevents the DBA from creating an unencrypted snapshot or from copying an encrypted snapshot to another account, as the snapshot would remain encrypted with the CMK and the DBA cannot decrypt it. This maintains operational efficiency because the DBA can still perform routine database management tasks (e.g., creating backups) but cannot exfiltrate data via snapshots.
What should I do if I get this CCSP question wrong?
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
Are there clue words in this question I should notice?
Yes — watch for: "best". Signals that multiple options may be partially correct. Choose the option that most directly solves the exact problem described, not the one that sounds most complete.
What is the key concept behind this question?
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
About these practice questions
Courseiva creates original exam-style practice questions with explanations and wrong-answer analysis. It does not publish real exam questions, exam dumps, or protected exam content. Learn why practice questions differ from exam dumps →
Share a tip, memory trick, or ask about the reasoning behind this question. Do not post real exam questions, leaked content, braindumps, or copyrighted exam material. Comments are moderated and may be removed without notice.
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.
Question Discussion
Share a tip, memory trick, or ask about the reasoning behind this question. Do not post real exam questions, leaked content, braindumps, or copyrighted exam material. Comments are moderated and may be removed without notice.
Sign in to join the discussion.