DEA-C01 Data Store Management Practice Question
A company is using Amazon DynamoDB to store session data for a web application. The data engineer needs to ensure that the data is encrypted at rest. Which action should the data engineer take?
⚠ Common exam trap
Candidates often assume encryption at rest must be explicitly enabled or configured, when in fact DynamoDB enables it by default for all tables, leading them to incorrectly select client-side encryption or other unrelated options.
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
✓
Ensure encryption at rest is enabled on the DynamoDB table (default).
DynamoDB tables are encrypted at rest by default using AWS Key Management Service (KMS) with an AWS owned key. The data engineer does not need to take any additional action to enable encryption at rest, as it is automatically enabled for all new DynamoDB tables. This ensures that all data stored on disk, including the table's primary key, local secondary indexes, and global secondary indexes, is encrypted before being written to SSDs in AWS data centers.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Enable encryption at rest on the DynamoDB Accelerator (DAX) cluster.
Why it's wrong here
DAX encryption at rest secures the cache cluster's storage, not the DynamoDB table itself, so session data in the table remains governed by DynamoDB's own at-rest settings. It tempts because DAX sits in front of DynamoDB, and would suit protecting cached read results in a cluster requiring its own encryption.
- ✗
Use client-side encryption before writing to DynamoDB.
Why it's wrong here
Client-side encryption protects data before it reaches DynamoDB, but the requirement is encryption at rest within the service, which DynamoDB applies automatically using AWS-owned keys. It tempts because it adds a layer of control, and would suit scenarios demanding end-to-end protection where the provider must never see plaintext.
- ✓
Ensure encryption at rest is enabled on the DynamoDB table (default).
Why this is correct
DynamoDB encrypts all data at rest by default using AWS-owned keys, so no action is needed to enable it. Verifying that default encryption is active on the table satisfies the requirement without configuring client-side or KMS key options.
- ✗
Enable DynamoDB Time to Live (TTL) to encrypt data.
Why it's wrong here
TTL expires and deletes items after a timestamp; it performs no cryptographic function, so it cannot encrypt anything. It tempts because it is a DynamoDB table setting that manages data lifecycle, and would suit automatically removing stale session records to control storage costs.
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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.