- A
Double Key Encryption
Why wrong: Double Key Encryption uses two keys: one stored in Azure Key Vault and the other held by the customer outside Microsoft (e.g., on-premises HSM). The scenario states the company wants to manage keys in Azure Key Vault, not an external location, so Customer Key is more appropriate.
- B
Customer Key
Correct. Microsoft Purview Customer Key allows customers to provide and manage their own encryption keys using Azure Key Vault, providing an additional layer of encryption on top of the baseline. Data is encrypted using these keys, and the customer can control key access.
- C
Information Rights Management
Why wrong: Information Rights Management (IRM) in Microsoft 365 applies restrictions to documents (e.g., preventing copy, print, forward). It does not provide per-tenant encryption key management; it uses usage policies.
- D
Customer Lockbox
Why wrong: Customer Lockbox provides a process for granting Microsoft support engineers temporary access to data when needed for troubleshooting. It is not an encryption key management solution.
Quick Answer
The answer is Customer Key, the Microsoft Purview solution that enables customer-managed encryption for data at rest in Microsoft 365. This is correct because Customer Key allows you to provide and control your own encryption keys using Azure Key Vault, creating an additional layer of encryption beyond Microsoft’s baseline. When you revoke or remove the key from the service, the data becomes unreadable—a critical requirement for regulatory compliance with sensitive intellectual property in SharePoint Online. On the SC-900 exam, this concept tests your understanding of how Customer Key differs from Microsoft-managed keys and Service Encryption; a common trap is confusing it with Customer Lockbox, which controls access requests rather than encryption. Remember the memory tip: “Customer Key = Customer controls the Key in Key Vault” to distinguish it as the solution that lets you render data unreadable by removing your key.
SC-900 Practice Question: Describe the capabilities of Microsoft compliance solutions
This SC-900 practice question tests your understanding of describe the capabilities of microsoft compliance solutions. Match the stated requirement to the specific cloud service, access model, or configuration option — many options are valid in isolation but not for this scenario. 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.
A multinational corporation stores highly sensitive intellectual property in SharePoint Online. To meet regulatory requirements, they need an additional layer of encryption beyond Microsoft's baseline encryption. The company wants to manage their own encryption keys using Azure Key Vault, so that if they remove the key from the service, the data becomes unreadable. Which Microsoft Purview solution should they implement?
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
Customer Key
Customer Key (Option B) is the correct solution because it provides the ability to control and manage the encryption keys used to encrypt data at rest in Microsoft 365, including SharePoint Online. By using Azure Key Vault to store the keys, the organization can revoke access at any time, rendering the data unreadable—a key requirement for meeting regulatory obligations. This goes beyond Microsoft's baseline encryption by adding a customer-controlled layer of 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.
- ✗
Double Key Encryption
Why it's wrong here
Double Key Encryption uses two keys: one stored in Azure Key Vault and the other held by the customer outside Microsoft (e.g., on-premises HSM). The scenario states the company wants to manage keys in Azure Key Vault, not an external location, so Customer Key is more appropriate.
- ✓
Customer Key
Why this is correct
Correct. Microsoft Purview Customer Key allows customers to provide and manage their own encryption keys using Azure Key Vault, providing an additional layer of encryption on top of the baseline. Data is encrypted using these keys, and the customer can control key access.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
- ✗
Information Rights Management
Why it's wrong here
Information Rights Management (IRM) in Microsoft 365 applies restrictions to documents (e.g., preventing copy, print, forward). It does not provide per-tenant encryption key management; it uses usage policies.
- ✗
Customer Lockbox
Why it's wrong here
Customer Lockbox provides a process for granting Microsoft support engineers temporary access to data when needed for troubleshooting. It is not an encryption key management solution.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is that candidates often confuse Customer Key with Double Key Encryption, mistakenly thinking DKE is required for customer-managed keys in Azure Key Vault, when in fact Customer Key is the correct solution for managing encryption keys at rest across Microsoft 365 workloads.
Trap categories for this question
Scenario analysis trap
Double Key Encryption uses two keys: one stored in Azure Key Vault and the other held by the customer outside Microsoft (e.g., on-premises HSM). The scenario states the company wants to manage keys in Azure Key Vault, not an external location, so Customer Key is more appropriate.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
Customer Key leverages Azure Key Vault to store and manage the root keys used by Microsoft 365's service encryption, which is layered on top of BitLocker volume-level encryption. When a customer revokes access to their key in Azure Key Vault, the service encryption key is rendered inaccessible, causing the data to become unreadable within 15 minutes due to the key caching behavior. This is critical for organizations subject to regulations like GDPR or FedRAMP that require the ability to control and revoke encryption keys independently.
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 company's IT admin needs to give a contractor read-only access to production logs without sharing account credentials. Using role-based access control (RBAC) and temporary scoped permissions — not a permanent shared password — is the correct pattern. Questions like this test whether you can apply least-privilege access across cloud identity services.
What to study next
Got this wrong? Here's your next step.
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Describe the capabilities of Microsoft compliance solutions — study guide chapter
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FAQ
Questions learners often ask
What does this SC-900 question test?
Describe the capabilities of Microsoft compliance solutions — This question tests Describe the capabilities of Microsoft compliance solutions — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Customer Key — Customer Key (Option B) is the correct solution because it provides the ability to control and manage the encryption keys used to encrypt data at rest in Microsoft 365, including SharePoint Online. By using Azure Key Vault to store the keys, the organization can revoke access at any time, rendering the data unreadable—a key requirement for meeting regulatory obligations. This goes beyond Microsoft's baseline encryption by adding a customer-controlled layer of encryption.
What should I do if I get this SC-900 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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Last reviewed: Jun 11, 2026
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.
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