DEA-C01 Data Security and Governance Practice Question
A company has an AWS Glue ETL job that reads from an RDS MySQL instance and writes to S3. The security team requires that the connection to RDS be encrypted and that credentials be rotated automatically. Which configuration should be used?
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
✓
Store the password in AWS Secrets Manager with automatic rotation enabled and configure Glue to use SSL for the connection.
AWS Secrets Manager provides automatic rotation of RDS credentials, and AWS Glue can be configured to use SSL for an encrypted connection to RDS MySQL. Option A (Systems Manager Parameter Store) stores encrypted parameters but does not natively support automatic rotation of RDS credentials. Option B (IAM database authentication) provides authentication but does not encrypt the connection itself; SSL is still required for encryption. Option C (encrypted S3 bucket) is not a service designed for dynamic credential management and lacks automatic rotation.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Store the database password in an encrypted parameter in Systems Manager Parameter Store and enable SSL for the connection.
Why it's wrong here
Parameter Store does not support automatic rotation natively.
- ✗
Use IAM database authentication for RDS and store credentials in Glue connection properties.
Why it's wrong here
IAM auth does not use a password, but Glue connection properties are not rotated.
- ✗
Store the password in a text file in an encrypted S3 bucket and use SSL.
Why it's wrong here
No automatic rotation.
- ✓
Store the password in AWS Secrets Manager with automatic rotation enabled and configure Glue to use SSL for the connection.
Why this is correct
Secrets Manager supports rotation and Glue can use SSL.
Quick reference
AWS S3 Storage Class Comparison
| Storage Class | Min Duration | Retrieval | Use Case |
|---|---|---|---|
| S3 Standard | None | Immediate | Frequently accessed data |
| S3 Standard-IA | 30 days | Immediate | Infrequent access, rapid retrieval |
| S3 One Zone-IA | 30 days | Immediate | Non-critical infrequent data |
| S3 Intelligent-Tiering | None | Immediate–hours | Unknown or changing access patterns |
| S3 Glacier Instant | 90 days | Milliseconds | Archive with instant retrieval |
| S3 Glacier Flexible | 90 days | Minutes–hours | Archive, flexible retrieval |
| S3 Glacier Deep Archive | 180 days | Hours | Long-term compliance archive |
Go deeper
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Same concept, more angles
3 more ways this is tested on DEA-C01
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 data engineer needs to securely store database credentials for an RDS instance. Which TWO AWS services can be used?
easy- A.AWS KMS
- ✓ B.AWS Secrets Manager
- C.AWS IAM
- D.AWS CloudFormation
- ✓ E.AWS Systems Manager Parameter Store
Why B: AWS Secrets Manager is a dedicated service for managing secrets, including automatic rotation. AWS Systems Manager Parameter Store can also securely store secrets like database credentials as secure string parameters. AWS KMS is used for encryption key management, not for storing secrets. AWS IAM is for identity and access management. AWS CloudFormation is for infrastructure as code and does not natively store secrets.
Variation 2. A data engineer needs to securely store database credentials used by an AWS Glue ETL job. Which THREE steps should the engineer take?
medium- A.Hardcode the credentials in the Glue job script.
- ✓ B.Store the credentials in AWS Secrets Manager.
- ✓ C.Grant the Glue job's IAM role permission to read the secret.
- ✓ D.Configure the Glue job to use the Secrets Manager connector to retrieve credentials.
- E.Use AWS Systems Manager Parameter Store with a SecureString parameter.
Why B: Options B, C, and D are correct. AWS Secrets Manager securely stores credentials with automatic rotation. The Glue job's IAM role must have permission to read the secret (C), and the job uses the Secrets Manager connector to retrieve credentials (D). Option A is incorrect because hardcoding credentials is insecure and violates best practices. Option E is incorrect because while Parameter Store can store secrets, Secrets Manager is the recommended service for managing database credentials due to its built-in rotation and tighter integration with Glue.
Variation 3. A data engineer needs to securely store database credentials used by a Lambda function. The solution must automatically rotate the credentials every 90 days. Which AWS service should the engineer use?
easy- A.AWS CloudHSM
- B.AWS Systems Manager Parameter Store
- C.IAM Roles for Lambda
- ✓ D.AWS Secrets Manager
Why D: AWS Secrets Manager supports automatic rotation of secrets. Option A is wrong because CloudHSM is a hardware security module, not a secret store with rotation. Option B is wrong because Parameter Store does not natively rotate secrets. Option C is wrong because IAM Roles are for access to AWS services, not for storing database credentials.
JA
Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
This DEA-C01 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 DEA-C01 exam.