- A
AWS Key Management Service (AWS KMS)
Correct. AWS KMS is the managed service for creating and controlling encryption keys. It supports automatic annual key rotation and encrypts RDS snapshots at rest.
- B
AWS CloudHSM
Why wrong: Incorrect. AWS CloudHSM provides dedicated hardware security modules (HSMs), but it is not a fully managed service for automatic key rotation. It requires the customer to manage key rotation manually, which does not meet the requirement for automatic rotation.
- C
AWS Secrets Manager
Why wrong: Incorrect. AWS Secrets Manager is used to manage secrets such as database credentials and API keys, not encryption keys for data at rest. It does not encrypt RDS snapshots.
- D
AWS Certificate Manager (ACM)
Why wrong: Incorrect. AWS Certificate Manager is used to provision, manage, and deploy SSL/TLS certificates for securing network traffic. It does not manage encryption keys for data at rest or encrypt RDS snapshots.
Quick Answer
The answer is AWS Key Management Service (AWS KMS). This is correct because KMS provides fully managed, customer-managed keys (CMKs) that integrate directly with Amazon RDS to encrypt automated snapshots at rest, and it supports automatic annual key rotation every 365 days as a built-in feature—meeting the PCI DSS requirement for customer-controlled encryption without manual intervention. On the AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner CLF-C02 exam, this scenario tests your understanding of which service handles encryption key lifecycle management versus storage-level encryption (like S3 or RDS encryption itself). A common trap is confusing AWS KMS with AWS CloudHSM; remember that KMS is the fully managed, automatic rotation service, while CloudHSM gives you dedicated hardware but requires manual rotation. Memory tip: KMS = Key Management Service, where the “M” stands for “Managed rotation” for your master keys.
CLF-C02 Security and Compliance Practice Question
This CLF-C02 practice question tests your understanding of security and compliance. Match the stated requirement to the specific cloud service, access model, or configuration option — many options are valid in isolation but not for this scenario. After answering, compare your reasoning against the explanation and wrong-answer breakdown below. Once you have made your selection, read the full explanation to reinforce the concept and understand why each distractor is designed to mislead on exam day.
A company processes credit card transactions and must comply with PCI DSS requirements. Customer payment data is stored in Amazon RDS for MySQL. The security team needs to ensure that all automated database snapshots are encrypted at rest using customer-managed encryption keys that are automatically rotated every 365 days. The team wants a fully managed AWS service to create and control these encryption keys. Which AWS service should the company use to meet these requirements?
Answer choices
Why each option matters
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
AWS Key Management Service (AWS KMS)
AWS KMS is the correct service because it provides a fully managed, centralized way to create and control customer-managed keys (CMKs) that can be used to encrypt Amazon RDS automated snapshots. KMS supports automatic annual key rotation (365 days) as a built-in feature, and it integrates directly with RDS to enforce encryption at rest for snapshots without requiring any manual key management. This meets the PCI DSS requirement for customer-controlled encryption keys with automated rotation.
Key principle: Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✓
AWS Key Management Service (AWS KMS)
Why this is correct
Correct. AWS KMS is the managed service for creating and controlling encryption keys. It supports automatic annual key rotation and encrypts RDS snapshots at rest.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
- ✗
AWS CloudHSM
Why it's wrong here
Incorrect. AWS CloudHSM provides dedicated hardware security modules (HSMs), but it is not a fully managed service for automatic key rotation. It requires the customer to manage key rotation manually, which does not meet the requirement for automatic rotation.
- ✗
AWS Secrets Manager
Why it's wrong here
Incorrect. AWS Secrets Manager is used to manage secrets such as database credentials and API keys, not encryption keys for data at rest. It does not encrypt RDS snapshots.
- ✗
AWS Certificate Manager (ACM)
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is that candidates confuse CloudHSM's hardware-based key control with KMS's fully managed key rotation and integration, assuming that any HSM service automatically handles key rotation, when in fact CloudHSM requires you to implement rotation logic yourself.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
Under the hood, when you enable RDS snapshot encryption with a KMS customer-managed key, RDS uses envelope encryption: the KMS key encrypts a data key, which then encrypts the snapshot data. KMS automatic key rotation creates new backing key material each year while retaining the old material for decryption of previously encrypted snapshots, ensuring continuous access without re-encryption. In a real-world PCI DSS audit, using KMS with automatic rotation satisfies the requirement for cryptographic key changes at defined intervals (e.g., every 365 days) without manual intervention.
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.
TExam Day Tips
- 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.
Key takeaway
Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Real-world example
How this comes up in practice
A cloud solutions architect for a retail company is evaluating services for a new workload. The correct answer here reflects best practice for the specific scenario described — not a general cloud recommendation. Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option. Cloud exam questions reward reading the constraint carefully: the same technology can be right or wrong depending on the use case.
What to study next
Got this wrong? Here's your next step.
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
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Security and Compliance — study guide chapter
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FAQ
Questions learners often ask
What does this CLF-C02 question test?
Security and Compliance — This question tests Security and Compliance — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: AWS Key Management Service (AWS KMS) — AWS KMS is the correct service because it provides a fully managed, centralized way to create and control customer-managed keys (CMKs) that can be used to encrypt Amazon RDS automated snapshots. KMS supports automatic annual key rotation (365 days) as a built-in feature, and it integrates directly with RDS to enforce encryption at rest for snapshots without requiring any manual key management. This meets the PCI DSS requirement for customer-controlled encryption keys with automated rotation.
What should I do if I get this CLF-C02 question wrong?
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
What is the key concept behind this question?
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
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Last reviewed: Jun 11, 2026
This CLF-C02 practice question is part of Courseiva's free Amazon Web Services certification practice question bank. Courseiva provides original exam-style practice questions with explanations, topic-based practice, mock exams, readiness tracking, and study analytics to help learners prepare for the CLF-C02 exam.
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