Question 1mediummultiple choice
Full question →mediummultiple choiceObjective-mapped
A company runs a microservices-based application on Amazon ECS. The application stores database credentials and API keys in plaintext configuration files that are baked into container images. A security audit reveals that this practice violates the company's compliance policy, which mandates that secrets must be stored separately from code, centrally managed, and automatically rotated every 90 days. Which AWS service should the company use to meet these requirements?
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
AWS Key Management Service (AWS KMS)
AWS KMS is for creating and controlling encryption keys, not for storing secrets like passwords and API keys. It does not provide automatic rotation of secrets.
B
Distractor review
AWS CloudHSM
AWS CloudHSM offers dedicated hardware security modules for generating and storing encryption keys, but it is not a secrets management service and does not support automatic rotation of application secrets.
C
Best answer
AWS Secrets Manager
AWS Secrets Manager is purpose-built for storing, managing, and automatically rotating secrets such as database credentials and API keys. It integrates with Lambda to perform rotation on a schedule and with RDS for automatic credential updates, meeting the compliance requirements.
D
Distractor review
AWS Systems Manager Parameter Store
AWS Systems Manager Parameter Store can store configuration data and secrets, but it does not natively support automatic rotation of secrets. While it can be used with custom automation, Secrets Manager is the fully managed service that provides built-in automatic rotation, making it the better choice for this requirement.
Common exam trap
Common exam trap: NAT rules depend on direction and matching traffic
NAT is not only about the public address. The inside/outside interface roles and the ACL or rule that matches traffic are just as important.
Technical deep dive
How to think about this question
NAT questions usually test address translation, overload/PAT behaviour, static mappings and whether the right traffic is being translated. Read the interface direction and address terms carefully.
KKey Concepts to Remember
- Static NAT maps one inside address to one outside address.
- PAT allows many inside hosts to share one public address using ports.
- Inside local and inside global describe the private and translated addresses.
- NAT ACLs identify traffic for translation, not always security filtering.
TExam Day Tips
- Identify inside and outside interfaces first.
- Check whether the scenario needs static NAT, dynamic NAT or PAT.
- Do not confuse NAT matching ACLs with normal packet-filtering intent.
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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?
Static NAT maps one inside address to one outside address.
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: AWS Secrets Manager — AWS Secrets Manager is designed for storing, managing, and automatically rotating secrets such as database credentials and API keys. It integrates with AWS Lambda to rotate secrets on a schedule and with services like Amazon RDS to automatically rotate database credentials. AWS KMS manages encryption keys, not secrets. AWS CloudHSM provides dedicated hardware security modules for key storage. AWS Systems Manager Parameter Store can store secrets but does not natively support automatic rotation; Secrets Manager is the correct choice for automatic rotation.
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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