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.
Which THREE controls help protect data in use within a cloud environment? (Choose three.)
Confidential computing
Encrypts data in use in memory.
Tokenization
Why wrong: Protects data at rest by substitution.
Access control lists
Why wrong: Controls access but does not protect data in use.
Secure enclaves (e.g., Intel SGX)
Isolates data during processing.
Homomorphic encryption
Allows computation on encrypted data.
Answer choices
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
Confidential computing
Confidential computing protects data in use by executing computations within a hardware-based Trusted Execution Environment (TEE), such as Intel SGX or AMD SEV, which isolates the data and code from the host operating system and hypervisor. This ensures that even privileged users or cloud administrators cannot access the plaintext data while it is being processed in memory.
Key principle: Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Answer analysis
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
Confidential computing
Why this is correct
Encrypts data in use in memory.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
Tokenization
Why it's wrong here
Protects data at rest by substitution.
Access control lists
Why it's wrong here
Controls access but does not protect data in use.
Secure enclaves (e.g., Intel SGX)
Why this is correct
Isolates data during processing.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
Homomorphic encryption
Why this is correct
Allows computation on encrypted data.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
Common exam traps
ISC2 often tests the distinction between data-at-rest, data-in-transit, and data-in-use controls, and the trap here is that candidates confuse tokenization (which protects data at rest) or access control lists (which protect data at rest/in transit) with technologies that specifically protect data during active processing in memory.
Detailed technical explanation
Confidential computing leverages hardware-based TEEs like Intel SGX, which encrypts memory pages within an enclave and decrypts them only inside the CPU, preventing even the host OS from reading the data. Homomorphic encryption allows computations on ciphertext without decryption, but it is currently impractical for most real-world workloads due to high computational overhead and large ciphertext expansion. Secure enclaves (e.g., Intel SGX) are already deployed in cloud services like Microsoft Azure Confidential Computing for sensitive workloads such as multi-party analytics and healthcare data processing.
Key takeaway
Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Real-world example
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
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FAQ
Cloud Data Security — This question tests Cloud Data Security — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
The correct answer is: Confidential computing — Confidential computing protects data in use by executing computations within a hardware-based Trusted Execution Environment (TEE), such as Intel SGX or AMD SEV, which isolates the data and code from the host operating system and hypervisor. This ensures that even privileged users or cloud administrators cannot access the plaintext data while it is being processed in memory.
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
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Last reviewed: Jun 30, 2026
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.
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