Quick Answer
The answer is AWS Lake Formation, which is the correct choice because it provides centralized permissions for Athena and Glue Data Catalog, allowing you to grant or revoke access at the table, column, or row level without managing individual IAM policies. This service acts as a fine-grained access control layer that integrates directly with the Glue Data Catalog, so when a user runs an Athena query, Lake Formation enforces permissions on the underlying catalog resources. On the AWS Certified Data Engineer Associate DEA-C01 exam, this question tests your understanding of how to separate authentication (IAM) from authorization (Lake Formation) for data lakes. A common trap is choosing IAM, but IAM alone cannot control table-level access in the Glue Catalog, while S3 bucket policies only govern storage, not catalog objects. Remember the memory tip: “Lake Formation is the gatekeeper for the Glue Catalog—IAM gets you in the door, but Lake Formation decides which tables you can see.”
This DEA-C01 practice question tests your understanding of data security and governance. Match the stated requirement to the specific cloud service, access model, or configuration option — many options are valid in isolation but not for this scenario. After answering, compare your reasoning against the explanation and wrong-answer breakdown below. Once you have made your selection, read the full explanation to reinforce the concept and understand why each distractor is designed to mislead on exam day.
A company uses Amazon Athena to query data in S3. The security team wants to ensure that users can only query tables they have permissions to in the AWS Glue Data Catalog. Which service should be used to manage these permissions centrally?
AWS Lake Formation
Lake Formation provides fine-grained access control to Data Catalog resources.
AWS IAM
Why wrong: IAM can be used but is not centralized for Data Catalog.
AWS CloudTrail
Why wrong: CloudTrail is for auditing.
S3 bucket policies
Why wrong: Bucket policies do not control table access.
Answer choices
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
AWS Lake Formation
Option A is correct because Lake Formation provides centralized permissions management for the Glue Data Catalog. Option B (IAM) is too low-level and does not integrate directly with Data Catalog tables. Option C (S3 bucket policy) does not control table access. Option D (CloudTrail) is for auditing, not access control.
Key principle: Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Answer analysis
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
AWS Lake Formation
Why this is correct
Lake Formation provides fine-grained access control to Data Catalog resources.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
AWS IAM
Why it's wrong here
IAM can be used but is not centralized for Data Catalog.
AWS CloudTrail
Why it's wrong here
CloudTrail is for auditing.
S3 bucket policies
Why it's wrong here
Bucket policies do not control table access.
Common exam traps
Many certification questions include familiar terms but test a specific constraint. Read the exact wording before choosing an answer that is generally true but wrong for this case.
Detailed technical explanation
This question should be treated as a scenario, not a definition check. Identify the problem, the constraint and the best action. Then compare each option against those facts.
Key takeaway
Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Real-world example
A media company stores terabytes of video archives that are accessed once a year for audit purposes. Moving these objects to a cold storage tier (Azure Archive, S3 Glacier, or Google Nearline) costs a fraction of hot storage. Questions like this test whether you understand storage tiers, access frequency tradeoffs, and retrieval latency requirements.
What to study next
Identify which DEA-C01 exam domain this question belongs to, then review the specific concept being tested. Practise related questions in that domain and focus on understanding why each wrong answer is tempting — not just why the correct answer is right.
Data Security and Governance — study guide chapter
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FAQ
Data Security and Governance — This question tests Data Security and Governance — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
The correct answer is: AWS Lake Formation — Option A is correct because Lake Formation provides centralized permissions management for the Glue Data Catalog. Option B (IAM) is too low-level and does not integrate directly with Data Catalog tables. Option C (S3 bucket policy) does not control table access. Option D (CloudTrail) is for auditing, not access control.
Identify which DEA-C01 exam domain this question belongs to, then review the specific concept being tested. Practise related questions in that domain and focus on understanding why each wrong answer is tempting — not just why the correct answer is right.
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
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Last reviewed: Jun 20, 2026
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.
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