DEA-C01 Data Store Management Practice Question
A company uses Amazon S3 to store large datasets. The data engineering team needs to provide access to specific objects in the bucket to external partners using presigned URLs. Each URL should expire after 12 hours. The team wants to ensure that the presigned URLs cannot be used to access other objects in the bucket. Which approach should be taken?
⚠ Common exam trap
The DEA-C01 exam often tests the distinction between presigned URLs (which are tied to a specific object key and expiration) and bucket policies or IAM roles (which grant broader access), leading candidates to overcomplicate the solution with CloudFront or IP-based restrictions when a simple SDK-generated presigned URL is sufficient.
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
✓
Generate presigned URLs using the AWS SDK, specifying the exact object key and expiration time.
Presigned URLs generated via the AWS SDK allow you to specify the exact object key and expiration time, ensuring that the URL grants access only to that specific object for the defined 12-hour period. This approach uses the secret key of the IAM user or role to sign the URL, and the signature is tied to the object key, so the URL cannot be reused to access other objects in the bucket.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Create an IAM role for each partner and attach a policy that grants access to specific objects.
Why it's wrong here
Presigned URLs are generated with the credentials of the signer, so an IAM role per partner cannot itself produce a 12-hour URL or restrict which object each URL unlocks. IAM roles suit long-lived programmatic access via AssumeRole, not time-boxed single-object sharing.
- ✓
Generate presigned URLs using the AWS SDK, specifying the exact object key and expiration time.
Why this is correct
Generating presigned URLs with the AWS SDK while specifying the exact object key scopes each URL to a single object, and the 12-hour expiry parameter satisfies the required lifetime. This prevents access to other objects in the bucket.
- ✗
Use a bucket policy that allows access only from the partner's IP address range.
Why it's wrong here
A bucket policy restricting access to the partner's IP range does not scope a presigned URL to specific objects; the URL's embedded credentials still permit any object the signer can access. It is tempting because IP restrictions harden bucket access, and would be correct where partners connect from fixed addresses rather than needing per-object URLs.
- ✗
Use CloudFront signed URLs with a custom policy that restricts access to specific objects.
Why it's wrong here
CloudFront signed URLs control access to content delivered via a CloudFront distribution, not direct access to S3 objects using S3's native presigning mechanism as requested. This option is tempting because CloudFront signed URLs do restrict access to specific objects with an expiry, similar to the requirement. However, their primary use is to secure content served through a CDN for performance, caching, and advanced access control features, rather than for direct S3 object access.
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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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.