HashiCorp Certified - Vault Associate Course - Unsealing with Key Shards

The video tutorial explains the use of key shards to protect a master key in a Vault system. It details the process of unsealing Vault using a threshold of key shards distributed among trusted employees. The tutorial also covers the management and security of key shards, including the use of PGP keys for encryption and the importance of offline storage.

What algorithm is used to protect the master key by breaking it into key shards?

• Diffie-Hellman

• Elliptic Curve Cryptography

• Shamir's Secret Sharing

• RSA Encryption

How many key shards are needed by default to unseal Vault?

• Five

• Four

• Three

• Two

What is the default number of key shards created by Vault?

• Four

• Six

• Five

• Three

What is the purpose of encrypting key shards with PGP keys during initialization?

• To speed up the unsealing process

• To allow remote access to the keys

• To ensure the person initializing Vault cannot see the keys unencrypted

• To reduce the number of keys needed to unseal Vault

Why should key shards be stored offline?

• To prevent unauthorized automated access

• To make them easily accessible

• To reduce storage costs

• To comply with data regulations

What is a potential downside of needing multiple employees to unseal Vault?

• It can be inconvenient during off-hours

• It requires additional hardware

• It increases the security risk

• It complicates the encryption process

What is the recommended practice for storing key shards?

• Store them online for easy access

• Store them offline and encrypted

• Share them with all employees

• Keep them in a single location