DP-300 Implement a secure environment Practice Question
You are designing a secure environment for Azure SQL Managed Instance. The company requires that all database backups be encrypted using customer-managed keys stored in Azure Key Vault. Which combination of actions should you take?
⚠ Common exam trap
A common mix-up: candidates confuse Always Encrypted (which protects specific columns) with TDE (which encrypts the entire database and its backups), or they assume that Azure Storage Service Encryption (SSE) can be used to meet customer-managed key requirements, when in fact SSE uses platform-managed keys by default and does not apply to backup files in the same way as TDE with CMK.
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
✓
Enable Transparent Data Encryption (TDE) with a customer-managed key in Azure Key Vault.
Transparent Data Encryption (TDE) with customer-managed keys in Azure Key Vault allows you to encrypt the database backup files using a key that you control. When TDE is enabled and configured with a customer-managed key (CMK) stored in Azure Key Vault, Azure SQL Managed Instance automatically encrypts backups with the same TDE protector key, meeting the requirement for customer-managed backup encryption.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Configure Always Encrypted with keys stored in Key Vault.
Why it's wrong here
Incorrect: Always Encrypted protects column data, not backups.
- ✓
Enable Transparent Data Encryption (TDE) with a customer-managed key in Azure Key Vault.
Why this is correct
Correct: TDE with customer-managed key encrypts backups.
- ✗
Use Azure Storage Service Encryption to encrypt the backup files.
Why it's wrong here
Incorrect: Storage encryption uses Microsoft-managed keys by default.
- ✗
Enable backup encryption using a certificate stored in the managed instance.
Why it's wrong here
Incorrect: Backup encryption is not configured separately; TDE covers it.
Go deeper
Related to this question
Learn chapter
Overview of Azure Data Platform Options
Key term
Azure SQL Managed Instance
Azure SQL Managed Instance is a fully managed cloud database service that gives you nearly all the features of Microsoft SQL Server on your own server, without you having to manage the hardware or operating system.
Key term
Transparent Data Encryption
Transparent Data Encryption is a security feature that automatically encrypts data written to a database and decrypts it when read, without requiring any changes to the application.
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Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
This DP-300 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 DP-300 exam.