DEA-C01 Data Security and Governance Practice Question
A company uses Amazon Redshift for data warehousing. The security team requires that all data stored in Redshift be encrypted at rest using a customer-managed KMS key. How should the data engineer configure this?
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
✓
Enable encryption using a KMS key when creating the Redshift cluster
Redshift supports encryption at rest using KMS. You enable encryption when launching the cluster by choosing a KMS key. Option B is wrong because Redshift doesn't use S3 SSE-KMS for its own storage. Option C is wrong because you cannot encrypt an existing cluster without restoring from snapshot. Option D is wrong because cluster parameter groups do not control encryption. Option A is correct.
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 using a KMS key when creating the Redshift cluster
Why this is correct
Encryption must be enabled at launch; you cannot add it later.
- ✗
Configure S3 SSE-KMS on the underlying S3 storage
Why it's wrong here
Redshift storage is not directly S3; it uses its own encrypted storage.
- ✗
Use the AWS KMS console to encrypt the Redshift cluster after creation
Why it's wrong here
Encryption cannot be added after creation; requires snapshot restore.
- ✗
Set a cluster parameter group with encryption enabled
Why it's wrong here
Parameter groups do not control encryption.
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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Variation 1. A company uses Amazon Redshift for data warehousing. The security team requires that all data be encrypted at rest using a key managed by the company. Which Redshift encryption option should be used?
hard- A.Enable encryption using AWS managed key (default)
- B.Use SSL/TLS encryption
- C.Use hardware security module (HSM)
- ✓ D.Specify a customer managed KMS key when enabling encryption
Why D: Amazon Redshift supports encryption at rest using AWS KMS. To use a key managed by the company (customer managed key), you must specify a customer managed KMS key when enabling encryption. Option D is correct. Option A uses an AWS managed key (default), which is not managed by the company. Option B refers to encryption in transit, not at rest. Option C: HSM is not directly supported for Redshift encryption; KMS is used.
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.