CompTIA Security+ (SY0-601) — Question 203

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: C

Explanation

Homomorphic encryption allows computations to be performed on encrypted data without needing to decrypt it, making it the best choice for this scenario. Asymmetric and symmetric encryption do not allow such operations directly on the encrypted data, and ephemeral encryption focuses on temporary keys rather than the ability to manipulate data while encrypted.