Certified in Risk and Information Systems Control (CRISC) Practice Test

The primary purpose of utilizing a digital envelope is to protect a digital document from unauthorized visibility. A digital envelope is a method that combines symmetric and asymmetric encryption to secure sensitive data. When a document is wrapped in a digital envelope, the actual data is encrypted with a symmetric key, which ensures that even if the data is intercepted during transmission, it remains unreadable to unauthorized users.

The symmetric key itself is then encrypted using the public key of the intended recipient, ensuring that only the recipient, who possesses the corresponding private key, can decrypt the symmetric key and subsequently access the original data. This multi-layered approach greatly enhances the security of sensitive information, preserving its confidentiality and integrity during electronic transmission.

While factors such as speed, backup copies, and document formatting might be important in other contexts, they do not encompass the primary objective of a digital envelope, which is fundamentally about safeguarding information from unauthorized access.