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CCSK · Question #197

IaaS volume storage encryption protects from which following security risk(s)?

The correct answer is E. Both A and C. IaaS volume storage encryption guards against data exposure via snapshot cloning and against unauthorized viewing by cloud provider personnel, but does not prevent the underlying volume from being physically migrated within the provider's infrastructure.

Cloud Data Security

Question

IaaS volume storage encryption protects from which following security risk(s)?

Options

  • AProtects volumes from snapshot cloning/exposure
  • BProtects volumes from being moved to another part of the cloud
  • CProtects volumes from being viewed by the cloud provider's employees
  • DBoth A and B
  • EBoth A and C

How the community answered

(45 responses)
  • A
    16% (7)
  • B
    4% (2)
  • C
    4% (2)
  • D
    2% (1)
  • E
    73% (33)

Why each option

IaaS volume storage encryption guards against data exposure via snapshot cloning and against unauthorized viewing by cloud provider personnel, but does not prevent the underlying volume from being physically migrated within the provider's infrastructure.

AProtects volumes from snapshot cloning/exposure

A alone is incomplete because volume encryption also protects against unauthorized viewing by provider employees when customer-managed keys are in use.

BProtects volumes from being moved to another part of the cloud

Volume encryption does not prevent a volume from being moved to another region or physical host - the provider's control plane can migrate it regardless of encryption state.

CProtects volumes from being viewed by the cloud provider's employees

C alone is incomplete because volume encryption also protects against data exposure through snapshot cloning or accidental snapshot sharing.

DBoth A and B

Both A and B is incorrect because B - protection from volume movement - is not a capability that storage encryption provides.

EBoth A and CCorrect

Encryption protects against snapshot cloning/exposure (A) because any cloned or leaked snapshot remains unreadable ciphertext without the decryption key. It also protects against cloud provider employee access (C) when customer-managed keys are used, as provider personnel cannot decrypt data they do not hold the key for. However, encryption does not prevent a volume from being moved or migrated - the provider's orchestration layer relocates encrypted volumes just as easily as unencrypted ones, so B is not a valid protection.

Concept tested: IaaS volume storage encryption protections and limitations

Source: https://csrc.nist.gov/publications/detail/sp/800-111/final

Topics

#volume encryption#snapshot cloning#IaaS storage#data at rest

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