This DEA-C01 practice question tests your understanding of data store management. This is a configuration task: choose the command set that satisfies every stated requirement. Small differences — like 'secret' vs 'password' or 'transport input ssh' vs 'all' — change whether the answer is correct. 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 S3 as its data lake. A data engineer needs to enforce encryption of data at rest using server-side encryption with AWS KMS. Which S3 bucket property should be configured?
Default encryption
Default encryption enforces SSE-KMS on all objects.
Server access logging
Why wrong: Server access logging records requests, not encryption.
Versioning
Why wrong: Versioning manages object versions, not encryption.
Bucket policy
Why wrong: Bucket policy controls access, not encryption.
Answer choices
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
Default encryption
Option A is correct because configuring default encryption on an S3 bucket ensures that all objects stored in the bucket are encrypted at rest using server-side encryption. When AWS KMS is specified as the encryption type, S3 automatically encrypts objects with a KMS key (SSE-KMS) upon upload, even if the upload request does not include encryption headers. This enforces encryption at rest without requiring changes to client applications.
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.
Default encryption
Why this is correct
Default encryption enforces SSE-KMS on all objects.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
Server access logging
Why it's wrong here
Server access logging records requests, not encryption.
Versioning
Why it's wrong here
Versioning manages object versions, not encryption.
Bucket policy
Why it's wrong here
Bucket policy controls access, not encryption.
Common exam traps
The trap here is that candidates often confuse bucket policies (which can enforce encryption conditions) with default encryption (which actually applies encryption), leading them to select bucket policy as the answer when the question asks for the property that enforces encryption of data at rest.
Detailed technical explanation
Default encryption uses the bucket's encryption configuration to apply SSE-KMS, SSE-S3, or DSSE-KMS automatically. When SSE-KMS is chosen, S3 calls the KMS GenerateDataKey API to create a unique data key for each object, which is then encrypted under the specified KMS key. A subtle behavior is that default encryption does not retroactively encrypt existing objects; it only applies to new uploads, so a lifecycle policy or batch operation may be needed to encrypt existing data.
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
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FAQ
Data Store Management — This question tests Data Store Management — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
The correct answer is: Default encryption — Option A is correct because configuring default encryption on an S3 bucket ensures that all objects stored in the bucket are encrypted at rest using server-side encryption. When AWS KMS is specified as the encryption type, S3 automatically encrypts objects with a KMS key (SSE-KMS) upon upload, even if the upload request does not include encryption headers. This enforces encryption at rest without requiring changes to client applications.
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
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Last reviewed: Jun 24, 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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