Question 1mediummultiple choice
Full question →mediummultiple choiceObjective-mapped
A company must store sensitive financial records in Amazon S3. The compliance policy mandates that the encryption key for data at rest must be generated and stored on the company's own on-premises hardware security module (HSM). The company must never allow AWS to have access to the plaintext encryption key. Which Amazon S3 encryption option should the company use?
Answer choices
Why each option matters
Good practice is not just finding the correct option. The wrong answers often show the exact trap the exam wants you to fall into.
A
Distractor review
Server-Side Encryption with S3-Managed Keys (SSE-S3)
SSE-S3 uses encryption keys managed entirely by AWS. This does not satisfy the requirement that the company generates and stores the keys and that AWS never has access to the plaintext key.
B
Distractor review
Server-Side Encryption with AWS Key Management Service (SSE-KMS) using a customer managed key
Even with a customer managed key, the key is stored and managed within AWS KMS. The compliance policy states that AWS must never have access to the plaintext encryption key, which is not the case with KMS.
C
Best answer
Server-Side Encryption with Customer-Provided Keys (SSE-C)
SSE-C allows you to provide your own encryption key with each request to S3. S3 uses the key to encrypt data but does not store the key. This meets the requirement that the company manages the key on-premises and AWS never has access to the plaintext key.
D
Distractor review
Client-side encryption using the AWS Encryption SDK
Client-side encryption occurs before data is sent to S3; it is not a server-side encryption option offered by S3. While it meets the key control requirement, the question specifically asks for an Amazon S3 encryption option, and client-side encryption is performed by the client application, not S3.
Common exam trap
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
Many certification questions include familiar terms but test a specific constraint. Read the exact wording before choosing an answer that is generally true but wrong for this case.
Technical deep dive
How to think about this question
This question should be treated as a scenario, not a definition check. Identify the problem, the constraint and the best action. Then compare each option against those facts.
KKey Concepts to Remember
- Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
- Find the constraint that changes the correct option.
- Eliminate answers that are true in general but not in this case.
- Use explanations to understand the rule behind the answer.
TExam Day Tips
- Underline the problem statement mentally.
- Watch for words such as best, first, most likely and least administrative effort.
- Review why wrong options are wrong, not only why the correct option is correct.
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More questions from this exam
Keep practising from the same exam bank, or move into a focused topic page if this question exposed a weak area.
Question 1
A developer needs to launch a test server for a new application prototype. The developer logs into the AWS Management Console, selects an Amazon EC2 instance type, configures the security group, and starts the instance. The instance is running within two minutes, and the developer did not need to submit a formal request to the company's IT procurement team or wait for approval from a cloud administrator. Which essential characteristic of cloud computing does this scenario best demonstrate?
Question 2
A solutions architect is planning a new web application on AWS. The workload will include 3 Amazon EC2 instances (t3.medium) running 24/7, an Application Load Balancer, and an Amazon RDS for MySQL db.t3.small database. The architect needs to estimate the monthly cost for the first year, considering different purchasing options (On-Demand, 1-year All Upfront Reserved Instance, and Compute Savings Plan). Which AWS tool should the architect use to create this estimate?
Question 3
A company's development team frequently needs temporary test environments. A developer can log into the AWS Management Console, select an Amazon EC2 instance type, configure storage, and launch the instance within minutes without any interaction with the IT infrastructure team. This capability is an example of which essential characteristic of cloud computing?
Question 4
A company's finance team needs to analyze AWS spending in detail. They require a report that includes hourly cost data for each AWS service, each individual resource (e.g., a specific EC2 instance), and any cost allocation tags applied. The team plans to export this data to an Amazon S3 bucket and then import it into a custom business intelligence (BI) analytics dashboard. Which AWS tool should the finance team use to generate this level of detailed cost data?
Question 5
A company uses AWS for its development environment. The finance team wants to set a monthly budget of $10,000. They want to receive an email notification when the actual costs reach 80% of the budget ($8,000) and again when costs exceed the budget. The team needs a managed AWS service that can automatically send these alerts without requiring custom code or third-party tools. Which AWS service should the team use?
Question 6
A company uses AWS Organizations to manage multiple accounts. The security team needs to enforce a policy that restricts SSH access (port 22) from the internet (0.0.0.0/0) in all VPCs across all accounts. The team wants to centrally define the allowed rules and automatically apply them to newly created VPCs and security groups, while also automatically remediating any existing non-compliant security groups. Which AWS service should the team use?
FAQ
Questions learners often ask
What does this CLF-C02 question test?
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Server-Side Encryption with Customer-Provided Keys (SSE-C) — The correct answer is SSE-C (Server-Side Encryption with Customer-Provided Keys). With SSE-C, you manage the encryption key yourself and provide it with each request to S3. S3 does not store the key, so AWS never has access to the plaintext key. SSE-S3 uses AWS-managed keys, giving AWS control. SSE-KMS uses keys stored in AWS KMS, which AWS administers. Client-side encryption encrypts data before upload and is not a server-side encryption option offered by S3; while it meets the key control requirement, the question specifically asks for an Amazon S3 encryption option.
What should I do if I get this CLF-C02 question wrong?
Then try more questions from the same exam bank and focus on understanding why the wrong options are tempting.
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