- A
Amazon RDS requires no special configuration for HIPAA compliance
Why wrong: HIPAA compliance requires signing a BAA with AWS and configuring the service appropriately (encryption, access controls) — it's not automatic.
- B
Amazon RDS with a signed Business Associate Agreement (BAA) with AWS
RDS is a HIPAA-eligible service. Customers handling PHI must sign a BAA with AWS and ensure appropriate encryption, access controls, and audit logging are configured.
- C
Amazon Redshift only, because RDS does not support HIPAA workloads
Why wrong: Both RDS and Redshift are HIPAA-eligible services — the claim that RDS doesn't support HIPAA is incorrect.
- D
Only self-managed databases on EC2 can be used for HIPAA workloads on AWS
Why wrong: Multiple AWS managed services including RDS, Aurora, and DynamoDB are HIPAA-eligible — customers don't need to self-manage databases to achieve HIPAA compliance.
Quick Answer
The answer is Amazon RDS with a signed Business Associate Agreement (BAA) with AWS. This is the correct choice because HIPAA mandates that any service storing protected health information (PHI) must have a contractual BAA in place, making AWS a business associate; without that signed agreement, even technically secure configurations are not HIPAA-eligible. Amazon RDS supports the required encryption at rest via AWS KMS and encryption in transit using TLS, but the BAA is the non-negotiable legal foundation. On the AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner CLF-C02 exam, this question tests your understanding that HIPAA eligibility is a contractual requirement, not just a technical checkbox—a common trap is assuming services like RDS are automatically HIPAA-compliant. Remember the memory tip: BAA before PHI—no signed agreement, no eligible database.
CLF-C02 Cloud Technology and Services Practice Question
This CLF-C02 practice question tests your understanding of cloud technology and services. This is a configuration task: choose the command set that satisfies every stated requirement. Small differences — like 'secret' vs 'password' or 'transport input ssh' vs 'all' — change whether the answer is correct. 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 stores customer health records in an application database and needs a HIPAA-eligible AWS service for the database tier. Which relational database option on AWS is eligible for HIPAA workloads?
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
Amazon RDS with a signed Business Associate Agreement (BAA) with AWS
Amazon RDS can be used for HIPAA workloads when the customer has signed a Business Associate Agreement (BAA) with AWS and configures the RDS instance with encryption at rest (using AWS KMS) and encryption in transit (using TLS). The BAA is a contractual requirement under HIPAA that makes AWS a business associate, allowing covered entities to store protected health information (PHI) in RDS. Without a signed BAA, no AWS service is automatically HIPAA-eligible, even if technical security controls are in place.
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.
- ✗
Amazon RDS requires no special configuration for HIPAA compliance
Why it's wrong here
HIPAA compliance requires signing a BAA with AWS and configuring the service appropriately (encryption, access controls) — it's not automatic.
- ✓
Amazon RDS with a signed Business Associate Agreement (BAA) with AWS
Why this is correct
RDS is a HIPAA-eligible service. Customers handling PHI must sign a BAA with AWS and ensure appropriate encryption, access controls, and audit logging are configured.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
- ✗
Amazon Redshift only, because RDS does not support HIPAA workloads
Why it's wrong here
Both RDS and Redshift are HIPAA-eligible services — the claim that RDS doesn't support HIPAA is incorrect.
- ✗
Only self-managed databases on EC2 can be used for HIPAA workloads on AWS
Why it's wrong here
Multiple AWS managed services including RDS, Aurora, and DynamoDB are HIPAA-eligible — customers don't need to self-manage databases to achieve HIPAA compliance.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is that candidates assume RDS is automatically HIPAA-compliant (Option A) or that only self-managed EC2 databases qualify (Option D), when in fact the critical missing piece is the signed Business Associate Agreement (BAA) with AWS, which is a contractual prerequisite for any HIPAA-eligible service.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
Under the hood, HIPAA eligibility for RDS requires enabling encryption at rest via AWS KMS (using AES-256) and encryption in transit via TLS 1.2 or higher, along with enabling CloudTrail and database audit logs to meet the audit control standard. A common real-world scenario is a healthcare application using RDS for PostgreSQL with a BAA, where the database must be configured to enforce TLS connections using the rds.force_ssl parameter, and all backups must be encrypted to avoid non-compliance.
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 media company stores terabytes of video archives that are accessed once a year for audit purposes. Moving these objects to a cold storage tier (Azure Archive, S3 Glacier, or Google Nearline) costs a fraction of hot storage. Questions like this test whether you understand storage tiers, access frequency tradeoffs, and retrieval latency requirements.
What to study next
Got this wrong? Here's your next step.
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FAQ
Questions learners often ask
What does this CLF-C02 question test?
Cloud Technology and Services — This question tests Cloud Technology and Services — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Amazon RDS with a signed Business Associate Agreement (BAA) with AWS — Amazon RDS can be used for HIPAA workloads when the customer has signed a Business Associate Agreement (BAA) with AWS and configures the RDS instance with encryption at rest (using AWS KMS) and encryption in transit (using TLS). The BAA is a contractual requirement under HIPAA that makes AWS a business associate, allowing covered entities to store protected health information (PHI) in RDS. Without a signed BAA, no AWS service is automatically HIPAA-eligible, even if technical security controls are in place.
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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