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SY0-501 · Question #36

Which of the following types of keys is found in a key escrow?

The correct answer is B. Private. Key escrow is a mechanism designed to store cryptographic keys, primarily private keys, securely for recovery purposes or to provide access under specific circumstances.

Submitted by deeparc· Mar 4, 2026General security concepts

Question

Which of the following types of keys is found in a key escrow?

Options

  • APublic
  • BPrivate
  • CShared
  • DSession

How the community answered

(56 responses)
  • A
    13% (7)
  • B
    77% (43)
  • C
    7% (4)
  • D
    4% (2)

Why each option

Key escrow is a mechanism designed to store cryptographic keys, primarily private keys, securely for recovery purposes or to provide access under specific circumstances.

APublic

Public keys are meant to be freely distributed and publicly known, making their escrow unnecessary as they do not require recovery or restricted access.

BPrivateCorrect

Key escrow specifically involves storing a copy of an entity's private key with a trusted third party. This allows the key to be recovered in case the original is lost, corrupted, or if authorized parties (like legal authorities) need access to encrypted data for forensic or compliance reasons.

CShared

Shared keys (symmetric keys) are typically managed within the communicating parties and while they need secure storage, 'key escrow' as a term is most commonly associated with the secure, recoverable storage of asymmetric private keys.

DSession

Session keys are temporary, ephemeral keys used only for the duration of a single communication session, making their long-term storage or escrow illogical and unnecessary.

Concept tested: Key escrow purpose and key types

Source: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/security/identity-protection/hello-for-business/pin-reset-s-key-recovery-enterprise-deployment

Topics

#key escrow#private key#cryptography#key management

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