Question 1mediummultiple choice
Full question →mediummultiple choiceObjective-mapped
A financial services company stores sensitive transaction data in Amazon S3. The company must encrypt the data at rest using keys that are stored in a hardware security module (HSM) validated under FIPS 140-2 Level 3. Additionally, the company requires full control over the key lifecycle, including rotation and deletion, and AWS must not have any access to the keys. Which AWS service should the company use to generate and store the encryption keys?
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
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AWS Key Management Service (KMS) with a customer managed key
AWS KMS uses shared HSMs and provides FIPS 140-2 Level 2 validation (Level 3 in select regions), but the customer does not have dedicated, isolated HSM hardware. AWS retains some administrative access to the HSM infrastructure. This does not meet the requirement for exclusive customer control and Level 3 validation.
B
Best answer
AWS CloudHSM
AWS CloudHSM provides dedicated HSMs that are FIPS 140-2 Level 3 validated. Customers have full control over the HSMs and the keys stored inside them, including the ability to rotate and delete keys. AWS cannot access the keys because the HSMs are dedicated to the customer and managed by the customer.
C
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AWS Secrets Manager
AWS Secrets Manager is a service for securely storing and rotating secrets (e.g., passwords, API keys). It does not provide dedicated HSM hardware or FIPS 140-2 Level 3 validation. It is not designed for generating or storing encryption keys for data at rest.
D
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AWS Certificate Manager (ACM)
AWS Certificate Manager handles SSL/TLS certificate provisioning, renewal, and deployment. It does not generate or store encryption keys for S3 data at rest, nor does it offer dedicated HSM capabilities with FIPS 140-2 Level 3 validation.
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: AWS CloudHSM — AWS CloudHSM provides dedicated hardware security modules that are FIPS 140-2 Level 3 validated. With CloudHSM, the customer manages the HSMs and has exclusive control over the encryption keys; AWS has no access to the keys. AWS Key Management Service (KMS) with a customer managed key is FIPS 140-2 Level 2 (in most regions) and does not give the customer full isolation from AWS. AWS Secrets Manager is designed for securely storing secrets (such as database passwords), not for key generation with an HSM. AWS Certificate Manager manages SSL/TLS certificates, not encryption keys for S3 data at rest. Therefore, CloudHSM is the correct service for this requirement.
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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