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SSCP Practice Question: Which THREE of the following are best practices…
Which THREE of the following are best practices for securely managing cryptographic keys in an enterprise environment?
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
✓
Implement key escrow to allow recovery of encrypted data.
The correct answers are C, D, and E. Option C: Key escrow enables recovery of encrypted data when keys are lost, which is a best practice for enterprise environments. Option D: Regular key rotation limits the impact of a key compromise and is a fundamental security practice. Option E: Storing keys in an HSM provides tamper-resistant hardware protection. Option A is incorrect because using the same key for both encryption and signing violates key separation principles. Option B is incorrect because email is not a secure channel for sharing keys; encrypted email is still vulnerable to interception or misconfiguration.
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 the same key for encryption and decryption (symmetric) and also for signing.
Why it's wrong here
Key reuse across different operations weakens security and is not recommended.
- ✗
Share keys via email encrypted with the recipient's public key.
Why it's wrong here
Email is susceptible to interception and lacks proper access controls.
- ✓
Implement key escrow to allow recovery of encrypted data.
Why this is correct
Key escrow ensures that encrypted data can be recovered if keys are lost or unavailable.
- ✓
Rotate keys on a regular schedule or upon compromise.
Why this is correct
Regular rotation limits the damage from a key exposure.
- ✓
Store keys in a hardware security module (HSM).
Why this is correct
HSMs provide hardware-level protection and secure key management.
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JA
Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
This SSCP 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 SSCP exam.