DEA-C01 Data Security and Governance Practice Question
A company is designing a data lake on Amazon S3. The security team requires granular access control based on data classifications. Which TWO AWS services can be used together to implement attribute-based access control (ABAC) for objects in S3?
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 S3 object tags
Amazon S3 object tags (C) are the attribute source in S3 ABAC: classification labels such as DataClass=Confidential are attached to objects, and IAM policies reference them via conditions like s3:ExistingObjectTag/<key>. AWS Identity and Access Management (D) is the policy engine that evaluates those tag-based conditions in identity and resource policies, granting or denying access according to the object's classification attribute. Together, S3 object tags supply the attributes and IAM enforces attribute-based access control, which is exactly the ABAC pattern required for the data lake. AWS Secrets Manager (A) stores and rotates secrets such as credentials, not access-control attributes. AWS Lake Formation (B) manages fine-grained permissions over data catalog tables and databases, not S3 object-level ABAC. AWS Key Management Service (E) provides encryption key management and cryptographic operations, not authorization decisions.
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 Secrets Manager
Why it's wrong here
Secrets Manager stores and rotates credentials such as database passwords and API keys; it attaches no tags to S3 objects and evaluates no principal or resource attributes, so it cannot drive ABAC. It is tempting because it secures sensitive data, and it would be correct when the requirement is centralised rotation of access keys.
- ✗
AWS Lake Formation
Why it's wrong here
Lake Formation governs catalog-level permissions across data lakes, but ABAC on S3 objects requires IAM policies that evaluate tag conditions on principals and resources. It tempts because Lake Formation does enforce fine-grained access, and it would be correct when access must be managed through the Glue Data Catalog rather than S3 tags.
- ✓
Amazon S3 object tags
Why this is correct
S3 object tags supply the resource-side attributes that ABAC evaluates, letting bucket policies and IAM permissions grant or deny access based on classification tags such as data sensitivity. Combined with IAM, tags form the attribute pair required for tag-based, granular object access control.
- ✓
AWS Identity and Access Management (IAM)
Why this is correct
IAM supplies the principal-side attributes and policy evaluation engine for ABAC, matching role or user tags against S3 object tags in condition keys such as s3:ExistingObjectTag. Paired with S3 object tags, IAM delivers the granular, classification-driven access control the security team requires.
- ✗
AWS Key Management Service (KMS)
Why it's wrong here
AWS KMS is used for encryption key management and does not provide access control based on attributes.
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 |
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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.