DEA-C01 Data Store Management Practice Question
A company uses Amazon S3 to store sensitive data. The security team requires that all data be encrypted at rest using a customer-managed key that is rotated annually. Which encryption option should be used?
⚠ Common exam trap
It's easy for candidates to confuse SSE-C with customer-managed keys, but SSE-C requires you to supply the key on every operation and does not support AWS-managed rotation, making it unsuitable for the 'rotated annually' requirement.
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
✓
SSE-KMS (Server-Side Encryption with AWS KMS).
SSE-KMS is the correct choice because it allows you to use a customer-managed key (CMK) in AWS KMS, which you can configure to rotate automatically on an annual schedule. This satisfies the security team's requirement for encryption at rest with a key you control and rotate yearly, while still leveraging server-side encryption that integrates with S3's existing infrastructure.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✓
SSE-KMS (Server-Side Encryption with AWS KMS).
Why this is correct
Allows customer-managed KMS key with annual rotation.
- ✗
SSE-S3 (Server-Side Encryption with S3-managed keys).
Why it's wrong here
Keys are managed by AWS, not customer.
- ✗
Client-side encryption.
Why it's wrong here
Encryption is done by the client, not AWS.
- ✗
SSE-C (Server-Side Encryption with Customer-Provided keys).
Why it's wrong here
Keys are provided by customer but rotation is complex.
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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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.