← CLF-C02·Amazon Web Services

Question 622 of 1,024

Security and Compliance →mediumMultiple ChoiceObjective-mapped

Quick Answer

The answer is an AWS KMS customer managed key (CMK) with automatic key rotation enabled. This solution satisfies every requirement because a customer managed key gives you full control over the key’s lifecycle, including the ability to immediately revoke access by disabling, scheduling deletion, or updating key policies, while automatic rotation ensures the key material is replaced every 12 months without any manual intervention. Additionally, every use of the key is inherently logged in AWS CloudTrail via the `Decrypt` and `GenerateDataKey` API calls, meeting the audit requirement. On the AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner CLF-C02 exam, this scenario tests your ability to distinguish between AWS managed keys (which you cannot control or rotate manually) and customer managed keys, with a common trap being the mistaken belief that AWS managed keys offer full control or immediate revocation. Remember the memory tip: “Customer managed means you’re the boss—rotate, revoke, and audit on your terms.”

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 stores sensitive customer data in Amazon S3. The security policy requires that all objects be encrypted at rest using an encryption key that is automatically rotated every 12 months. The company must retain full control over the key, including the ability to immediately revoke access to the key if a security incident occurs. The security team also needs to audit every use of the key through AWS CloudTrail. Which key management solution should the company choose to meet these requirements?

Clue words in this question

Noticing these words before you look at the options changes how you read each choice.

Clue: "immediately / without restart"
Why it matters: Time or reboot constraint — the correct answer must take effect right away without requiring a reboot or reload.

Question 1mediummultiple choice

Full question →

A
Use an AWS KMS customer managed key (CMK) with automatic key rotation enabled.
Correct. A customer managed CMK provides full control over the key, allows automatic yearly rotation, and integrates with CloudTrail for auditing all key usage.
B
Use an AWS KMS AWS managed key with automatic key rotation.
Why wrong: Incorrect. AWS managed keys are managed by AWS; the customer cannot revoke or disable the key, and rotation is handled automatically but not configurable by the customer.
C
Use Amazon S3 server-side encryption with SSE-S3.
Why wrong: Incorrect. SSE-S3 uses S3-managed encryption keys. The customer has no control over the key, cannot revoke access, and key usage is not auditable via CloudTrail.
D
Use AWS CloudHSM to generate and manage the key.
Why wrong: Incorrect. AWS CloudHSM provides dedicated hardware security modules but does not offer automatic key rotation natively, and key usage auditing is not integrated with CloudTrail in the same way as KMS.

Full breakdown with real-world context →

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

✓

Use an AWS KMS customer managed key (CMK) with automatic key rotation enabled.

AWS KMS customer managed keys (CMKs) allow you to enable automatic annual key rotation (every 12 months) and retain full control over the key, including the ability to immediately revoke access by disabling or deleting the key. CloudTrail integration is inherent with KMS, logging every use of the key via the `Decrypt` and `GenerateDataKey` API calls, meeting the audit requirement. This combination satisfies all stated security policy needs: encryption at rest, automatic rotation, full control, immediate revocation, and auditability.

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.

✓
Use an AWS KMS customer managed key (CMK) with automatic key rotation enabled.
Why this is correct
Correct. A customer managed CMK provides full control over the key, allows automatic yearly rotation, and integrates with CloudTrail for auditing all key usage.
Clue confirmation
The clue word "immediately / without restart" in the question point toward this answer.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
✗
Use an AWS KMS AWS managed key with automatic key rotation.
Why it's wrong here
Incorrect. AWS managed keys are managed by AWS; the customer cannot revoke or disable the key, and rotation is handled automatically but not configurable by the customer.
✗
Use Amazon S3 server-side encryption with SSE-S3.
Why it's wrong here
Incorrect. SSE-S3 uses S3-managed encryption keys. The customer has no control over the key, cannot revoke access, and key usage is not auditable via CloudTrail.
✗
Use AWS CloudHSM to generate and manage the key.
Why it's wrong here
Incorrect. AWS CloudHSM provides dedicated hardware security modules but does not offer automatic key rotation natively, and key usage auditing is not integrated with CloudTrail in the same way as KMS.

Common exam traps

Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword

The trap here is that candidates often confuse AWS managed keys (which also rotate automatically) with customer managed keys, overlooking the requirement for full customer control and immediate revocation capability that only customer managed keys provide.

Detailed technical explanation

How to think about this question

AWS KMS customer managed keys support automatic rotation with a configurable annual period (365 days) by default, but you can also manually rotate the key at any time. When you disable or schedule deletion of a CMK, all subsequent decryption requests fail immediately, providing instant revocation. CloudTrail records every KMS `Encrypt`, `Decrypt`, and `GenerateDataKey` call with the key ARN, enabling detailed auditing of key usage per object.

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.

Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.

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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: Use an AWS KMS customer managed key (CMK) with automatic key rotation enabled. — AWS KMS customer managed keys (CMKs) allow you to enable automatic annual key rotation (every 12 months) and retain full control over the key, including the ability to immediately revoke access by disabling or deleting the key. CloudTrail integration is inherent with KMS, logging every use of the key via the `Decrypt` and `GenerateDataKey` API calls, meeting the audit requirement. This combination satisfies all stated security policy needs: encryption at rest, automatic rotation, full control, immediate revocation, and auditability.

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.

Are there clue words in this question I should notice?

Yes — watch for: "immediately / without restart". Time or reboot constraint — the correct answer must take effect right away without requiring a reboot or reload.

What is the key concept behind this question?

Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.

About these practice questions

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Same concept, more angles

1 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 stores sensitive financial data in Amazon S3 and must encrypt it at rest. The compliance team mandates that the encryption key must be rotated at least once per year, and the key material must be generated and managed by the company within AWS. The company wants a fully automated solution that requires no manual intervention for key rotation. Which AWS service or feature should the company use?

medium

A.Use Amazon S3 server-side encryption with customer-provided encryption keys (SSE-C).
✓ B.Create an AWS KMS customer managed key and enable automatic annual rotation.
C.Use an AWS KMS AWS managed key (aws/s3) which automatically rotates the key every year.
D.Use AWS CloudHSM to generate and manage the key, and implement a custom cron job to rotate the key.

Why B: Option B is correct because AWS KMS customer managed keys support automatic annual rotation, which satisfies the compliance requirement for key rotation without manual intervention. The company retains control over the key material since it is generated and managed within AWS KMS, meeting the mandate that the company manages the keys within AWS.

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Question Discussion

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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.