SC-100 Design security solutions for infrastructure Practice Question
A financial services company is designing a secure infrastructure for their Azure SQL Database. They need to encrypt data at rest using customer-managed keys (CMK) stored in a key vault with soft-delete and purge protection enabled. The encryption must be transparent to applications. What should they configure?
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
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Transparent Data Encryption (TDE) with Azure Key Vault
Azure SQL Database supports Transparent Data Encryption (TDE) with CMK in Azure Key Vault. Always Encrypted is for column-level encryption. Dynamic Data Masking is for masking, not encryption. Azure Information Protection is for classification.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
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Azure Information Protection
Why it's wrong here
Azure Information Protection (AIP) is a classification and labeling solution that applies metadata and protection policies to documents and emails, not a database encryption technology. It does not encrypt the physical data files or provide transparent encryption-at-rest for Azure SQL databases. AIP would not satisfy regulatory requirements for encrypting stored financial data, making it an incorrect choice.
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Dynamic Data Masking
Why it's wrong here
Dynamic Data Masking (DDM) obscures sensitive data in query results for non-privileged users by showing masked values, but it does not encrypt the underlying stored data. The data remains in plaintext in the database, and DDM can be bypassed by authorized users or application queries. Since it provides no real encryption at rest, it fails to meet encryption standards for a financial services company.
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Always Encrypted
Why it's wrong here
Always Encrypted is a client-side encryption technology that protects specific columns end-to-end, meaning the database engine never sees plaintext, but it requires significant application changes using specific client drivers and key management. It only encrypts chosen columns, not the entire database, and is not designed as a transparent, whole-database encryption-at-rest solution. For a broad compliance requirement, its column-level scope and application modifications make it less suitable compared to TDE.
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Transparent Data Encryption (TDE) with Azure Key Vault
Why this is correct
Transparent Data Encryption (TDE) with Azure Key Vault is the correct choice because it performs real-time encryption and decryption of the entire database, including backups and transaction logs, at the storage layer. Using customer-managed keys in Azure Key Vault provides advanced key control and separation of duties, satisfying compliance requirements without requiring any application changes. TDE is a transparent, whole-database encryption solution ideales for financial services environments.
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JA
Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
This SC-100 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 SC-100 exam.