- A
AWS KMS
Why wrong: KMS manages encryption keys for data encryption. It does not provision SSL/TLS certificates for HTTPS.
- B
AWS Secrets Manager
Why wrong: Secrets Manager stores and rotates secrets like database passwords. It does not provision SSL/TLS certificates.
- C
AWS Certificate Manager
ACM provisions free SSL/TLS certificates for AWS-integrated services (ALB, CloudFront, API Gateway) and automatically renews them before expiration. This eliminates the cost and manual effort of certificate management.
- D
AWS IAM
Why wrong: While IAM can store server certificates uploaded by customers, ACM is the managed service for provisioning and automatically renewing SSL/TLS certificates at no cost for integrated services.
Question 406 of 1,024
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 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?
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
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.
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 KMS
- ✗
AWS Secrets Manager
Why it's wrong here
Secrets Manager stores and rotates secrets like database passwords. It does not provision SSL/TLS certificates.
- ✓
AWS Certificate Manager
Why this is correct
ACM provisions free SSL/TLS certificates for AWS-integrated services (ALB, CloudFront, API Gateway) and automatically renews them before expiration. This eliminates the cost and manual effort of certificate management.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
- ✗
AWS IAM
Why it's wrong here
While IAM can store server certificates uploaded by customers, ACM is the managed service for provisioning and automatically renewing SSL/TLS certificates at no cost for integrated services.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is that candidates may confuse AWS Secrets Manager with ACM because both involve 'secrets' and 'rotation,' but Secrets Manager does not handle SSL/TLS certificate provisioning or deployment to load balancers, and it incurs costs per secret.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
ACM leverages the AWS Certificate Manager Private Certificate Authority (ACM PCA) for private certificates or integrates with public CAs like Amazon Trust Services for public certificates. When a certificate is issued, ACM automatically renews it 60 days before expiry using the DNS validation method, and the renewed certificate is seamlessly deployed to the associated ALB listener without downtime. A subtle behavior is that ACM-managed certificates cannot be exported for use outside of AWS-integrated services, which prevents their use on EC2 instances directly.
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 startup's cloud architect reviews their monthly bill and notices costs are higher than expected for a long-running batch job. Switching from on-demand instances to Reserved Instances — or using Spot/Preemptible VMs — can reduce compute costs by up to 72 %. Questions like this test whether you understand the tradeoffs between commitment, flexibility, and cost across cloud pricing models.
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.
- →
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 Certificate Manager — 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.
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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