DEA-C01 Data Security and Governance Practice Question
A company is using Amazon Redshift Spectrum to query data in Amazon S3. The S3 bucket uses SSE-KMS encryption. The Redshift cluster has an IAM role that allows access to S3 and KMS. However, queries fail with an 'Access Denied' error. What is the most likely cause?
⚠ Common exam trap
Watch out — candidates often assume attaching an IAM role to the Redshift cluster is sufficient for all Spectrum operations, but the DEA-C01 exam tests the specific requirement that the role must be declared in the external schema definition for Spectrum to use it.
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
✓
The external schema does not have the IAM role specified.
When using Redshift Spectrum with SSE-KMS encrypted data in S3, the IAM role must be explicitly associated with the external schema via the `CREATE EXTERNAL SCHEMA` command using the `IAM_ROLE` parameter. Even if the cluster has the IAM role attached, Spectrum queries fail with 'Access Denied' if the role is not specified at the schema level, because Redshift needs to pass that role to S3 and KMS for each query execution. Option B correctly identifies this missing configuration as the most likely cause.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
The Redshift cluster does not have the IAM role attached.
Why it's wrong here
If attached, the cluster can use the role, but the schema still needs it.
- ✓
The external schema does not have the IAM role specified.
Why this is correct
The schema must reference the IAM role for Redshift Spectrum to assume it.
- ✗
The IAM role does not have the kms:Decrypt permission.
Why it's wrong here
The role likely has the permission, but the schema is not using the role.
- ✗
The external table is not defined in the schema.
Why it's wrong here
The table exists but the schema lacks the role.
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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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.