- A
Availability
Why wrong: Availability focuses on ensuring systems and data are accessible when needed. While TLS can help prevent denial-of-service attacks indirectly, its primary purpose is not to ensure availability.
- B
Integrity
Correct. Integrity ensures that data has not been altered during transit. TLS includes message authentication codes to verify that the data received is exactly what was sent, preventing unauthorized changes.
- C
Confidentiality
Why wrong: Confidentiality ensures that data is not accessible to unauthorized viewers. TLS does provide confidentiality via encryption, but the scenario explicitly states the goal is to prevent alteration, which is a property of integrity, not confidentiality.
- D
Non-repudiation
Why wrong: Non-repudiation ensures that an action cannot be denied by the party that performed it, often using digital signatures. TLS alone does not provide non-repudiation; integrity checks only detect unauthorized changes, not prove who made them.
Quick Answer
The answer is integrity. While TLS encryption is often associated with confidentiality through its encryption of data in transit, the specific security goal of ensuring data is not altered during transmission is integrity, which TLS achieves by appending a Message Authentication Code (MAC) to each record. The MAC acts as a cryptographic checksum; if an attacker modifies even a single bit of the data, the MAC verification at the receiving end fails, immediately alerting the system to tampering. On the SC-900 exam, this distinction is a common trap—many candidates mistakenly select confidentiality because they equate encryption with secrecy, but the question explicitly asks about preventing alteration, not unauthorized viewing. Microsoft tests your ability to separate the three pillars of the CIA triad: confidentiality, integrity, and availability. A helpful memory tip is to think of the MAC as a tamper-evident seal: it doesn’t hide the contents, but it proves they haven’t been swapped or changed.
SC-900 Practice Question: Describe the concepts of security, compliance, and identity
This SC-900 practice question tests your understanding of describe the concepts of security, compliance, and identity. Read the scenario carefully and evaluate each option against the stated constraints before committing to an answer. 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 company is implementing security controls to protect data during transmission between their on-premises database and a cloud storage service. They decide to use TLS encryption. Which security goal is primarily addressed by ensuring that data is not altered during transit?
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
Integrity
TLS encryption provides data integrity through message authentication codes (MACs) that detect any unauthorized modification during transit. The question specifically asks about ensuring data is not altered, which is the definition of integrity, not confidentiality or availability.
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.
- ✗
Availability
Why it's wrong here
Availability focuses on ensuring systems and data are accessible when needed. While TLS can help prevent denial-of-service attacks indirectly, its primary purpose is not to ensure availability.
- ✓
Integrity
Why this is correct
Correct. Integrity ensures that data has not been altered during transit. TLS includes message authentication codes to verify that the data received is exactly what was sent, preventing unauthorized changes.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
- ✗
Confidentiality
Why it's wrong here
Confidentiality ensures that data is not accessible to unauthorized viewers. TLS does provide confidentiality via encryption, but the scenario explicitly states the goal is to prevent alteration, which is a property of integrity, not confidentiality.
- ✗
Non-repudiation
Why it's wrong here
Non-repudiation ensures that an action cannot be denied by the party that performed it, often using digital signatures. TLS alone does not provide non-repudiation; integrity checks only detect unauthorized changes, not prove who made them.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is that candidates often associate encryption solely with confidentiality and forget that TLS also provides integrity via MACs, so they incorrectly choose confidentiality when the question explicitly asks about preventing alteration.
Trap categories for this question
Scenario analysis trap
Confidentiality ensures that data is not accessible to unauthorized viewers. TLS does provide confidentiality via encryption, but the scenario explicitly states the goal is to prevent alteration, which is a property of integrity, not confidentiality.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
TLS uses a MAC (e.g., HMAC-SHA256) computed over the ciphertext and sequence number to detect tampering; if an attacker modifies a packet, the MAC verification fails and the connection is terminated. In TLS 1.3, authenticated encryption (AEAD) like AES-GCM combines encryption and integrity into a single operation, ensuring any alteration is immediately detectable. This is distinct from a simple checksum like CRC, which can be easily forged.
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.
What to study next
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FAQ
Questions learners often ask
What does this SC-900 question test?
Describe the concepts of security, compliance, and identity — This question tests Describe the concepts of security, compliance, and identity — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Integrity — TLS encryption provides data integrity through message authentication codes (MACs) that detect any unauthorized modification during transit. The question specifically asks about ensuring data is not altered, which is the definition of integrity, not confidentiality or availability.
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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