Question 324 of 997
Develop for Azure storagehardMultiple ChoiceObjective-mapped

Quick Answer

The correct answer is to use Azure Storage Service Encryption with a customer-managed key stored in Azure Key Vault, combined with a key rotation policy set to 90 days. This works because Azure Storage SSE natively supports customer-managed keys (CMK) for encrypting blob data at rest, and Azure Key Vault’s automatic rotation feature allows you to define a rotation frequency—such as every 90 days—so a new key version is generated without manual intervention. On the AZ-204 exam, this scenario tests your understanding of how Azure Storage encryption integrates with Key Vault for compliance requirements, and a common trap is assuming you need a separate service like Azure Key Vault Managed HSM or a custom function app to handle rotation. Remember the memory tip: “CMK + Key Vault rotation policy = automatic compliance,” meaning you don’t need extra services—just configure the policy directly in Key Vault to meet the 90-day rotation mandate.

AZ-204 Develop for Azure storage Practice Question

This AZ-204 practice question tests your understanding of develop for azure storage. This is a configuration task: choose the command set that satisfies every stated requirement. Small differences — like 'secret' vs 'password' or 'transport input ssh' vs 'all' — change whether the answer is correct. 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.

You are designing a solution that stores sensitive customer data in Azure Blob Storage. The data must be encrypted at rest using a customer-managed key (CMK) stored in Azure Key Vault. Additionally, the solution must support automatic key rotation every 90 days. You need to configure the encryption settings. Which combination of Azure services and features should you use?

Question 1hardmultiple choice
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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

Use Azure Storage encryption with a customer-managed key stored in Azure Key Vault. Configure a key rotation policy in Key Vault to rotate the key every 90 days.

Option D is correct because Azure Storage Service Encryption (SSE) supports customer-managed keys (CMK) stored in Azure Key Vault for encrypting blob data at rest. Automatic key rotation every 90 days can be achieved by configuring a key rotation policy in Azure Key Vault, which allows you to define a rotation frequency (e.g., 90 days) and automatically generate a new key version. This meets both the CMK and automatic rotation requirements without additional services.

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 Azure Information Protection to encrypt the blobs with a customer-managed key.

    Why it's wrong here

    Azure Information Protection is for classification and labeling, not storage encryption.

  • Use Azure Disk Encryption with Azure Key Vault to encrypt the storage account.

    Why it's wrong here

    Azure Disk Encryption encrypts VM disks, not Blob Storage.

  • Use Azure Storage Service Encryption (SSE) with Microsoft-managed keys and enable automatic key rotation.

    Why it's wrong here

    Microsoft-managed keys do not allow customer control or automatic rotation.

  • Use Azure Storage encryption with a customer-managed key stored in Azure Key Vault. Configure a key rotation policy in Key Vault to rotate the key every 90 days.

    Why this is correct

    This supports CMK and automatic rotation via Key Vault's key rotation policy.

    Related concept

    Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.

Common exam traps

Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword

The trap here is that candidates confuse Azure Disk Encryption (for VMs) with Azure Storage encryption (for Blob Storage), or assume that Microsoft-managed keys can be configured to meet a customer-controlled rotation schedule, when in fact only customer-managed keys in Key Vault allow custom rotation policies.

Detailed technical explanation

How to think about this question

Azure Storage SSE with CMK uses envelope encryption: a unique Data Encryption Key (DEK) per blob is encrypted by a Key Encryption Key (KEK) stored in Azure Key Vault. When configuring key rotation in Key Vault, the KEK version changes, but existing blobs remain encrypted with the old DEK; only new writes use the new KEK version. To re-encrypt existing blobs with the new key, you must explicitly rewrap the DEKs (e.g., using 'az storage account update' or a rotation script). The 90-day rotation policy is set via Key Vault's 'az keyvault key rotation-policy' command with a 'lifetime' action of 'rotate' at 90 days after creation.

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 media company stores terabytes of video archives that are accessed once a year for audit purposes. Moving these objects to a cold storage tier (Azure Archive, S3 Glacier, or Google Nearline) costs a fraction of hot storage. Questions like this test whether you understand storage tiers, access frequency tradeoffs, and retrieval latency requirements.

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.

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FAQ

Questions learners often ask

What does this AZ-204 question test?

Develop for Azure storage — This question tests Develop for Azure storage — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..

What is the correct answer to this question?

The correct answer is: Use Azure Storage encryption with a customer-managed key stored in Azure Key Vault. Configure a key rotation policy in Key Vault to rotate the key every 90 days. — Option D is correct because Azure Storage Service Encryption (SSE) supports customer-managed keys (CMK) stored in Azure Key Vault for encrypting blob data at rest. Automatic key rotation every 90 days can be achieved by configuring a key rotation policy in Azure Key Vault, which allows you to define a rotation frequency (e.g., 90 days) and automatically generate a new key version. This meets both the CMK and automatic rotation requirements without additional services.

What should I do if I get this AZ-204 question wrong?

Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.

What is the key concept behind this question?

Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.

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Last reviewed: Jun 24, 2026

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This AZ-204 practice question is part of Courseiva's free Microsoft 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 AZ-204 exam.