CompTIA CASP+ (CAS-003) — Question 132

A financial institution would like to store its customer data in a cloud but still allow the data to be accessed and manipulated while encrypted. Doing so would prevent the cloud service provider from being able to decipher the data due to its sensitivity. The financial institution is not concerned about computational overheads and slow speeds. Which of the following cryptographic techniques would BEST meet the requirement?

Answer options

• A. Asymmetric
• B. Symmetric
• C. Homomorphic
• D. Ephemeral

Correct answer: A

Explanation

The correct answer is A. Asymmetric cryptography allows for secure data manipulation while keeping the data encrypted, making it ideal for sensitive information. Symmetric encryption (B) does not provide the same level of security for data access by third parties, while homomorphic encryption (C) is specifically designed for operations on encrypted data but is less common than asymmetric methods. Ephemeral (D) keys are used for temporary encryption and do not fulfill the requirement for persistent data manipulation.