COF-C03 Account Management and Data Governance Practice Question
Exhibit
{
"policy_name": "masking_policy_v1",
"target_column": "ssn",
"condition": "CURRENT_ROLE() IN ('HR_ADMIN')"
}Refer to the exhibit. What happens if a user with the 'ANALYST' role queries the 'ssn' column protected by this policy?
⚠ Common exam trap
Candidates frequently assume that a masking policy will cause the query to fail or return an error for unauthorized users, rather than simply returning the masked, redacted data value.
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
✓
The column value is replaced with the masked output.
When a masking policy is applied, Snowflake evaluates the condition at query runtime. If the condition evaluates to FALSE for the current user's role, Snowflake replaces the data with the masked value defined in the policy. This ensures that sensitive data is only revealed to authorized users, protecting the organization from unauthorized data exposure while allowing the schema and query logic to remain unchanged for all users.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
The query fails with an 'Access Denied' error.
Why it's wrong here
Masking policies do not block access to the entire query; they simply return a masked version of the data. If the user has SELECT privileges on the underlying table, they will still be able to execute the query, but the sensitive column will display the masked result.
- ✓
The column value is replaced with the masked output.
Why this is correct
The logic dictates that the policy checks if the role is 'HR_ADMIN'. Since the 'ANALYST' role does not match this, the condition is false. Consequently, Snowflake applies the masking function to the 'ssn' column, returning a masked value to the user to protect the PII data.
- ✗
The query returns NULL for all rows.
Why it's wrong here
A masking policy does not automatically return NULL unless the policy definition specifically uses the NULL value as the masking outcome. Without a defined function returning NULL, the system will return the result of the masking function specified within the policy, which is typically a hashed string.
- ✗
The user sees the unmasked ssn data.
Why it's wrong here
The user has the 'ANALYST' role, which is not included in the 'HR_ADMIN' permission set. Since the policy condition is not met, the unmasked data is not returned. The masking policy is working as intended to restrict access to the sensitive information for non-authorized roles.
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JA
Written and reviewed by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
Last reviewed September 2026 · checked against the official Snowflake exam blueprint
This COF-C03 practice question is part of Courseiva's free Snowflake 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 COF-C03 exam.