DEA-C01 Data Security and Governance Practice Question
A company needs to securely store and manage database credentials used by a data pipeline. Which AWS services can be used to store and rotate secrets automatically? (Choose TWO.)
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
✓
AWS Systems Manager Parameter Store
AWS Systems Manager Parameter Store (A) can securely store secrets and, when using the Advanced tier, supports automatic rotation via AWS Lambda. AWS Secrets Manager (E) provides native automatic rotation for database credentials and other secrets. B (IAM) is for identity and access management, not secret storage. C (KMS) manages encryption keys, not secrets. D (CloudHSM) provides hardware security modules for key management, not secret storage. Therefore, the correct answers are A and E.
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 Systems Manager Parameter Store
Why this is correct
Correct. Systems Manager Parameter Store can store secrets and, with the Advanced tier, can automate rotation via custom Lambda functions.
- ✗
AWS IAM
Why it's wrong here
Incorrect. IAM is used for managing users, groups, and permissions, not for storing secrets.
- ✗
AWS Key Management Service (AWS KMS)
Why it's wrong here
Incorrect. AWS KMS is a service for creating and managing encryption keys, not for storing secrets.
- ✗
AWS CloudHSM
Why it's wrong here
Incorrect. AWS CloudHSM provides hardware security modules for cryptographic key storage, not for secrets management.
- ✓
AWS Secrets Manager
Why this is correct
Correct. AWS Secrets Manager is designed specifically to store secrets and provides built-in automatic rotation for supported services.
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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Variation 1. A company wants to securely store database credentials used by a Lambda function. Which AWS service should be used to store and rotate the credentials automatically?
easy- A.AWS CloudHSM
- ✓ B.AWS Secrets Manager
- C.AWS Key Management Service (KMS)
- D.AWS Systems Manager Parameter Store
Why B: AWS Secrets Manager is designed for storing secrets and provides automatic rotation. Systems Manager Parameter Store can store secrets but does not natively support automatic rotation for database credentials. KMS is for encryption keys, not storing secrets. CloudHSM is for hardware security modules.
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.