DP-300 Implement a secure environment Practice Question
This DP-300 practice question tests your understanding of implement a secure environment. 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 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?
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.
Option B is correct because 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.
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.
✗
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.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
✗
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.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is that candidates often 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.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
TDE with customer-managed keys uses the TDE protector (an asymmetric key stored in Azure Key Vault) to encrypt the database encryption key (DEK), which in turn encrypts the database and its backups. When a backup is taken, Azure SQL Managed Instance automatically encrypts the backup file using the same DEK, ensuring that the backup is encrypted at rest. In a real-world scenario, if you need to restore a backup to a different managed instance, you must grant the target instance access to the same Key Vault key, which is a critical operational consideration.
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.
Related glossary terms
Concepts from this question explained
These glossary pages explain the core terms tested in this DP-300 question in full detail.
Implement a secure environment — This question tests Implement a secure environment — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Enable Transparent Data Encryption (TDE) with a customer-managed key in Azure Key Vault. — Option B is correct because 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.
What should I do if I get this DP-300 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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Question Discussion
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