DP-300 Implement a secure environment Practice Question
Your company is migrating on-premises SQL Server databases to Azure SQL Database. As part of security compliance, you must ensure that all data at rest is encrypted using customer-managed keys stored in Azure Key Vault. Which Azure SQL Database feature should you enable?
⚠ Common exam trap
Candidates often confuse 'Always Encrypted' (which protects sensitive columns from DBAs) with 'Transparent Data Encryption' (which encrypts the entire database at rest), leading them to select Always Encrypted when the requirement is for full data-at-rest encryption with customer-managed keys.
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
✓
Transparent Data Encryption with customer-managed keys in Azure Key Vault
Transparent Data Encryption (TDE) with customer-managed keys in Azure Key Vault is the correct feature because it encrypts SQL Server, Azure SQL Database, and Azure Synapse data files at rest using a customer-controlled key stored in Azure Key Vault. This meets the compliance requirement for encrypting all data at rest with customer-managed keys, as TDE performs real-time I/O encryption and decryption of the database, backups, and transaction log files without requiring application changes.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Dynamic Data Masking
Why it's wrong here
Dynamic Data Masking obfuscates data to non-privileged users but does not encrypt at rest.
- ✗
Always Encrypted
Why it's wrong here
Always Encrypted encrypts data in memory and during queries, not at rest.
- ✗
Row-Level Security
Why it's wrong here
Row-Level Security restricts row access based on user identity, not encryption.
- ✓
Transparent Data Encryption with customer-managed keys in Azure Key Vault
Why this is correct
TDE with CMK encrypts the database at rest using keys stored in Key Vault.
Visual reference
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Related to this question
Learn chapter
Overview of Azure Data Platform Options
Key term
Azure SQL Performance Tuning
Azure SQL Performance Tuning is the process of optimizing the speed and efficiency of queries and database operations in Microsoft Azure SQL Database or SQL Managed Instance to reduce latency and improve throughput.
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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JA
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.