encryption

The trap is answering 'which is better'. Every protocol you use daily runs both, each doing the job the other cannot.

'Yes, always' is the right default and the wrong answer. The interviewer wants the list of attackers it does nothing against.

Encryption without integrity has been exploited for decades. Nonce reuse under GCM is worse than most candidates think: it breaks integrity too.

Encryption at rest is the easy part; weights must be decrypted somewhere to be used. The scored answer controls where decryption happens, who can cause it, and how fast misuse is noticed.

Most database breaches are not clever. They are a reachable database, an over-privileged account, a leaked credential or an exposed backup.

Every database encryption option protects against someone. The question is whether it protects against the attacker you are worried about, and most only stop thieves of disks and backups.