CompTIA Cloud+ Practice Test

As part of maintaining a secure cloud environment, what practice is essential for controlling access to sensitive data?

1. Tokenization

2. Encryption

3. Single sign-on

4. Secure coding

The correct answer is: Encryption

The practice of encryption is essential for controlling access to sensitive data in a cloud environment because it transforms readable data into an unreadable format, known as ciphertext. This process uses algorithms and keys to secure the data, ensuring that only authorized users with the correct decryption keys can access the original content. Even if an unauthorized party were to gain access to the stored data, they would not be able to interpret it without the necessary keys, thereby protecting the data's confidentiality. In addition to its role in protecting data at rest, encryption extends to data in transit, safeguarding it from interception during transmission over networks. This dual capability is crucial for maintaining the integrity and privacy of sensitive information in cloud environments. While other practices mentioned, such as tokenization, single sign-on, and secure coding, are important for security and access control, encryption specifically addresses the need to protect the actual content of sensitive data. Tokenization replaces sensitive data with non-sensitive equivalents but does not encrypt the original data. Single sign-on simplifies user access but does not inherently secure the data itself. Secure coding practices improve application security but do not directly manage data confidentiality. Thus, encryption remains the fundamental practice for ensuring that sensitive data is secure against unauthorized access.