AZ-204 Develop for Azure storage Practice Question
Your application stores sensitive data in Azure Table Storage. You need to encrypt the data at rest. What should you do?
⚠ Common exam trap
The trap here is that candidates often overthink and assume they need to take explicit action (like client-side encryption or customer-managed keys) to encrypt data at rest, when in fact Azure Storage Service Encryption is enabled by default and requires no configuration.
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
✓
No action needed; Azure Storage Service Encryption (SSE) is enabled by default.
Azure Storage Service Encryption (SSE) automatically encrypts all data at rest in Azure Table Storage using 256-bit AES encryption, and it is enabled by default for all new and existing storage accounts. Since the question asks about encrypting data at rest and does not specify a need for customer-managed keys or client-side control, the default SSE meets the requirement without any additional configuration.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Implement client-side encryption using Azure Key Vault.
Why it's wrong here
Implementing client-side encryption, while a robust security measure, is not a mandatory action for simply storing sensitive data in Azure Table Storage. Azure Storage Service Encryption (SSE) already provides encryption at rest by default, fulfilling the fundamental security requirement without any explicit user action. Client-side encryption offers an additional layer of protection, ensuring data is encrypted before it leaves the client, but it requires application-level changes and key management, making it an optional enhancement rather than a default necessity.
- ✗
Enable server-side encryption with customer-managed keys in Azure Key Vault.
Why it's wrong here
Enabling server-side encryption with customer-managed keys (CMK) in Azure Key Vault is an advanced security option, but it is not a required initial action. Azure Storage Service Encryption (SSE) is already enabled by default using Microsoft-managed keys for all data at rest in Table Storage. While CMK provides greater control over encryption keys for compliance or specific security policies, it does not enable encryption itself; it merely changes the key management source, making it an optional configuration rather than a prerequisite for data encryption.
- ✓
No action needed; Azure Storage Service Encryption (SSE) is enabled by default.
Why this is correct
No action is needed because Azure Storage Service Encryption (SSE) is automatically enabled for all Azure Storage accounts, including Table Storage, by default. This means that all data written to Azure Table Storage is encrypted at rest using Microsoft-managed keys without any explicit configuration required from the user. This built-in encryption ensures that sensitive data is protected according to industry standards as soon as it is stored, satisfying the core security requirement.
- ✗
Enable Azure Disk Encryption on the virtual machines accessing the storage.
Why it's wrong here
Enabling Azure Disk Encryption (ADE) on virtual machines (VMs) is irrelevant for securing data stored directly in Azure Table Storage. ADE is designed to encrypt the operating system and data disks attached to Azure Virtual Machines, protecting data residing on those specific compute resources. Azure Table Storage is a separate Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS) offering, and its data is not stored on VM disks managed by the application owner, rendering ADE ineffective for this specific storage solution.
Quick reference
Symmetric Encryption Algorithm Comparison
| Algorithm | Key Size | Block Size | Status | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| AES-128 | 128-bit | 128-bit | Current standard | NIST approved; WPA3, TLS |
| AES-256 | 256-bit | 128-bit | Current standard | Preferred for sensitive / govt data |
| 3DES | 112-bit effective | 64-bit | Deprecated (2023) | Replaced by AES |
| DES | 56-bit | 64-bit | Broken | Cracked in < 24 h; never deploy |
| ChaCha20 | 256-bit | Stream cipher | Current | TLS 1.3, WireGuard |
Go deeper
Related to this question
Learn chapter
Azure Functions Development
Key term
Azure Storage Encryption
Azure Storage Encryption is the process of protecting data stored in Azure cloud storage by converting it into an unreadable format using encryption keys, ensuring only authorized parties can access it.
Key term
Azure Table Storage
Azure Table Storage is a NoSQL key-value data store in the cloud that lets you store and query large amounts of structured, non-relational data without needing a traditional database server.
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JA
Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
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.