SC-900 Practice Question: Describe the concepts of security, compliance, and identity
A company's security policy requires that all data transferred between the corporate data center and the cloud must be protected from unauthorized access during transmission. They use encryption protocols such as TLS to achieve this. Which security goal is primarily being addressed?
⚠ Common exam trap
A common mix-up: candidates confuse encryption with integrity, thinking that encryption alone prevents tampering, but encryption only provides confidentiality; integrity requires separate mechanisms like MACs or digital signatures, which TLS also includes but are not the primary goal stated in the question.
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
✓
Confidentiality
Confidentiality is the security goal that ensures data is not disclosed to unauthorized entities. By using encryption protocols such as TLS, the data in transit is rendered unreadable to any party that intercepts the traffic, directly protecting against unauthorized access during transmission.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✓
Confidentiality
Why this is correct
Encrypting data during transmission directly ensures that only authorized entities with the correct decryption key can access or read the information. This process transforms plaintext into ciphertext, making it unintelligible to any unauthorized interceptors who might intercept the data in transit. Therefore, the primary objective of such a security policy requirement is to prevent unauthorized disclosure of sensitive data while it traverses networks, directly upholding confidentiality.
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Integrity
Why it's wrong here
Integrity focuses on safeguarding data from unauthorized modification or tampering, ensuring its accuracy and completeness throughout its lifecycle. While cryptographic hashing, often used in conjunction with encryption, can verify data integrity, the act of encrypting data during transmission primarily aims to obscure its content. The core requirement of encrypting 'all data transferred' is fundamentally about preventing unauthorized *reading*, not primarily detecting if the data itself has been altered.
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Availability
Why it's wrong here
Availability ensures that authorized users can reliably access systems and data whenever needed, without undue delay or interruption. Encryption, by itself, does not directly contribute to or guarantee the continuous accessibility of data or services. In fact, improper key management or loss of decryption keys could inadvertently hinder availability by rendering encrypted data permanently inaccessible, demonstrating that its purpose is distinct from ensuring uptime.
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Non-repudiation
Why it's wrong here
Non-repudiation provides irrefutable proof of an action or event, preventing an entity from falsely denying having performed a specific action, such as sending a message or signing a document. This is typically achieved through digital signatures, which bind an identity to data using cryptographic methods and a Public Key Infrastructure (PKI). While encryption protects the secrecy of data in transit, it does not inherently provide proof of origin or prevent the sender from denying their involvement, which is the core function of non-repudiation.
Go deeper
Related to this question
Learn chapter
Core Security Concepts
Key term
TLS
Transport Layer Security (TLS) is a cryptographic protocol that encrypts data sent over the internet to keep it private and ensure it hasn’t been tampered with.
Key term
Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure
Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure, or HTTPS, is the secure version of HTTP that encrypts data between a web browser and a website using SSL/TLS to protect sensitive information like passwords and credit card numbers.
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Same concept, more angles
2 more ways this is tested on SC-900
These questions test the same concept from different angles. Work through them to make sure you can recognise it however the exam phrases it.
Variation 1. A company issues laptops to all employees with BitLocker full-disk encryption enabled. If a laptop is stolen, the data on the hard drive cannot be read without the recovery key. Which security principle does this measure primarily protect?
easy- A.Integrity
- B.Availability
- ✓ C.Confidentiality
- D.Non-repudiation
Why C: BitLocker full-disk encryption ensures that data on a stolen laptop's hard drive is unreadable without the recovery key, directly protecting against unauthorized access. This aligns with the confidentiality principle, which safeguards sensitive information from disclosure to unauthorized parties.
Variation 2. A company uses digital signatures to ensure that a sender cannot later deny having sent a message. Which security principle does this primarily address?
medium- A.Confidentiality
- B.Integrity
- C.Availability
- ✓ D.Non-repudiation
Why D: Digital signatures use asymmetric cryptography (e.g., RSA or ECDSA) to bind a signer's identity to a message. The signature is created with the sender's private key and verified with their public key, providing cryptographic proof of origin. This directly enforces non-repudiation because the sender cannot plausibly deny having signed the message, as only they possess the private key.
JA
Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
This SC-900 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-900 exam.