CLF-C02 Security and Compliance Practice Question
A company runs a web application on an Application Load Balancer (ALB) in the us-east-1 Region. The application serves HTTPS traffic. The company uses a third-party certificate authority to issue SSL/TLS certificates, but these certificates expire every year and require manual renewal. The company wants to use a managed AWS service to automatically provision, renew, and manage the SSL/TLS certificates for the ALB at no additional cost (no extra charge beyond the ALB usage). Which AWS service should the company use?
⚠ Common exam trap
Test-takers frequently confuse AWS KMS as a certificate management service because it deals with encryption, but KMS manages symmetric and asymmetric keys for data encryption, not SSL/TLS certificates for HTTPS termination.
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 Certificate Manager (ACM)
AWS Certificate Manager (ACM) is the correct service because it can provision, manage, and automatically renew public SSL/TLS certificates for use with an Application Load Balancer at no additional cost. ACM integrates directly with ALB to handle certificate deployment and renewal, eliminating the need for manual renewal of third-party certificates. The service is free for public certificates used with supported AWS services like ALB, CloudFront, and API Gateway.
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 it's wrong here
AWS Key Management Service (KMS) is a cryptographic key management service that creates, rotates, and controls access to symmetric and asymmetric KMS keys used for encrypting data at rest. KMS does not issue or manage X.509 SSL/TLS certificates, and you cannot attach a KMS key to an Application Load Balancer listener for HTTPS termination. Its job is envelope encryption for data—like EBS volumes, S3 objects, and RDS databases—not certificate lifecycle management.
When this WOULD be correct
A company needs to encrypt data at rest in Amazon S3 using a customer-managed key with automatic annual rotation. AWS KMS would be the correct service to create and manage the CMK with automatic rotation enabled.
- ✗
AWS WAF
Why it's wrong here
AWS WAF is a web application firewall that monitors and filters HTTP(S) requests to an Application Load Balancer, blocking common exploits such as SQL injection, cross-site scripting, and rate-based attacks. It does not issue or renew SSL/TLS certificates, nor does it perform TLS handshake termination or provide the certificate material presented to clients. WAF complements HTTPS by enforcing security rules on mitigated traffic, but certificate provisioning remains the responsibility of ACM.
When this WOULD be correct
A company needs to protect an ALB from SQL injection or cross-site scripting attacks, and wants to filter malicious web traffic. AWS WAF would be the correct service to deploy on the ALB for that purpose.
- ✓
AWS Certificate Manager (ACM)
Why this is correct
AWS Certificate Manager (ACM) provisions, manages, and automatically renews public SSL/TLS certificates for use with an Application Load Balancer. You can issue a certificate, then associate it with an ALB HTTPS listener in the same region, and ACM handles renewals and redeployment with no direct cost for the certificate itself. This makes ACM the correct choice for offloading HTTPS termination and encrypting client-to-load-balancer traffic.
- ✗
AWS Secrets Manager
Why it's wrong here
AWS Secrets Manager is designed to securely store and rotate secrets such as database credentials. While it can store certificate private keys, it does not natively integrate with ALB for HTTPS termination or automatic certificate renewal.
When this WOULD be correct
A company needs to store and automatically rotate database credentials or API keys used by an application. The question specifies a requirement for a managed service to rotate secrets on a schedule, and the candidate must choose the service that handles secret rotation without custom code.
Option-by-option analysis
Why each answer is right or wrong
Understanding why wrong answers are wrong — and when they would be correct — is what separates a 750 score from a 900. The CLF-C02 exam frequently reuses these exact scenarios with slightly different constraints.
✓AWS Certificate Manager (ACM)Correct answer▾
Why this is correct
AWS Certificate Manager (ACM) provisions, manages, and automatically renews public SSL/TLS certificates for use with an Application Load Balancer. You can issue a certificate, then associate it with an ALB HTTPS listener in the same region, and ACM handles renewals and redeployment with no direct cost for the certificate itself. This makes ACM the correct choice for offloading HTTPS termination and encrypting client-to-load-balancer traffic.
✗AWS Key Management Service (AWS KMS)Wrong answer — click to see why▾
Why this is wrong here
AWS KMS is a service for creating and managing encryption keys, not for provisioning or renewing SSL/TLS certificates. It does not automate certificate renewal or integrate with ALB for HTTPS termination.
★ When this WOULD be the correct answer
A company needs to encrypt data at rest in Amazon S3 using a customer-managed key with automatic annual rotation. AWS KMS would be the correct service to create and manage the CMK with automatic rotation enabled.
Why candidates choose this
Candidates may confuse key management with certificate management, assuming KMS handles SSL/TLS certificates because both involve cryptographic materials.
✗AWS WAFWrong answer — click to see why▾
Why this is wrong here
AWS WAF is a web application firewall that protects against common web exploits, not a service for managing SSL/TLS certificates. It does not provision or renew certificates.
★ When this WOULD be the correct answer
A company needs to protect an ALB from SQL injection or cross-site scripting attacks, and wants to filter malicious web traffic. AWS WAF would be the correct service to deploy on the ALB for that purpose.
Why candidates choose this
Candidates may confuse AWS WAF with security-related services and think it handles certificate management, or they may associate it with HTTPS traffic protection without understanding its specific function.
✗AWS Secrets ManagerWrong answer — click to see why▾
Why this is wrong here
AWS Secrets Manager is designed to securely store and rotate secrets like database credentials, API keys, and other sensitive configuration data, not to manage SSL/TLS certificates for load balancers. It does not automatically provision or renew certificates for use with AWS services like ALB.
★ When this WOULD be the correct answer
A company needs to store and automatically rotate database credentials or API keys used by an application. The question specifies a requirement for a managed service to rotate secrets on a schedule, and the candidate must choose the service that handles secret rotation without custom code.
Why candidates choose this
Candidates may confuse Secrets Manager with ACM because both services involve 'secrets' and 'certificates' are also secrets. They might think Secrets Manager can manage SSL/TLS certificates since it handles other types of secrets, but it lacks the integration with AWS services for certificate provisioning and renewal.
Analysis generated from the official CLF-C02blueprint and verified against question context. The “when correct” sections are what AI assistants cite when candidates ask “what’s the difference between these options?”
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This CLF-C02 question is part of Courseiva's 988-question bank — original exam-style content with full explanations and wrong-answer analysis, never real exam questions or exam dumps. Learn why practice questions differ from exam dumps →
Same concept, more angles
3 more ways this is tested on CLF-C02
These questions test the same concept from different angles. Work through them to make sure you can recognise it however the exam phrases it.
Variation 1. A company hosts a web application behind an Application Load Balancer (ALB) in AWS. The application must comply with a security policy requiring TLS encryption for all traffic between users and the ALB. The company wants to automate the renewal of TLS certificates and avoid manual certificate management. Which AWS service should the company use to provision and automatically renew the certificates?
medium- ✓ A.AWS Certificate Manager (ACM)
- B.AWS Key Management Service (KMS)
- C.AWS Secrets Manager
- D.AWS Identity and Access Management (IAM)
Why A: AWS Certificate Manager (ACM) is the correct service because it integrates directly with Application Load Balancers to provision and automatically renew TLS certificates, eliminating manual certificate management. ACM handles the entire certificate lifecycle, including renewal, which is essential for maintaining TLS encryption compliance without operational overhead.
Variation 2. A company runs a web application behind an Application Load Balancer (ALB) in a VPC. The application must comply with a security standard that requires encryption in transit for all web traffic. The company needs a service to centrally manage SSL/TLS certificates, automatically renew them, and deploy them to the ALB without manual intervention. Which AWS service should the company use to meet these requirements?
medium- ✓ A.AWS Certificate Manager (ACM)
- B.AWS Key Management Service (AWS KMS)
- C.AWS Secrets Manager
- D.AWS Identity and Access Management (IAM)
Why A: AWS Certificate Manager (ACM) is the correct service because it provides centralized management of SSL/TLS certificates, supports automatic renewal for certificates issued by ACM, and can seamlessly deploy these certificates to an Application Load Balancer (ALB) without any manual intervention. This directly meets the requirement for encryption in transit and compliance with the security standard.
Variation 3. A company wants to enable HTTPS on their Application Load Balancer using an SSL/TLS certificate. They want a managed service that provisions, renews, and deploys the certificate automatically at no cost for certificates used with integrated AWS services. Which AWS service provides this?
easy- A.AWS KMS
- B.AWS Secrets Manager
- ✓ C.AWS Certificate Manager
- D.AWS IAM
Why C: AWS Certificate Manager (ACM) is the correct service because it is a managed service that provisions, renews, and deploys SSL/TLS certificates automatically at no additional cost when used with integrated AWS services like Application Load Balancers. ACM handles the entire certificate lifecycle, including automatic renewal before expiration, and integrates natively with ALB to enable HTTPS without manual intervention.
JA
Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
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.