Question

During a review of a financial application, an IS auditor finds that the database is encrypted at rest using AES-256, but the encryption keys are stored in a plaintext configuration file on the same database server. Which of the following represents the GREATEST concern with this arrangement?

Accepted Answer

An attacker who compromises the database server can obtain both the ciphertext and the keys, defeating the encryption

Answer

AES-256 is computationally expensive and may degrade database query performance

Answer

The configuration file may be excluded from the regular backup schedule

Answer

AES-256 keys must be rotated more frequently than shorter keys