SQL Interview: 63 Keys contained in certificates

This is a post in the SQL Interview series. These aren’t trick or gotcha questions, they’re just questions designed to scope out a candidate’s knowledge around SQL Server and Azure SQL Database.

Section: Security Level: Medium

Question:

Public key encryption is based on combinations of private keys and public keys.

When you install a certificate on a SQL Server, to be used for client connection encryption, which key or keys are contained in the certificate?

• Public key
• Private key
• Both keys

Answer:

The certificate contains the public key only.

2025-07-15