DEA-C01 Customer managed key rotation Practice Question
A company uses AWS KMS to encrypt sensitive data in S3. The security team requires that the KMS key must be rotated automatically every year. Which key type should be used?
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
✓
Customer managed key with automatic rotation enabled
Customer managed keys can be configured with automatic rotation every year, meeting the security team's requirement. Option B is incorrect because AWS managed keys (aws/s3) rotate automatically every 3 years, not annually. Option A is incorrect because asymmetric keys do not support automatic rotation. Option C is incorrect because custom key stores backed by CloudHSM do not offer automatic rotation.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Asymmetric customer managed key
Why it's wrong here
Asymmetric customer managed keys do not support automatic rotation, so they cannot meet the requirement.
- ✗
AWS managed key (aws/s3)
Why it's wrong here
AWS managed keys (aws/s3) rotate automatically every 3 years, not annually, thus they do not satisfy the yearly rotation requirement.
- ✗
Custom key store backed by CloudHSM
Why it's wrong here
Custom key stores backed by CloudHSM do not offer automatic key rotation, so they are not suitable.
- ✓
Customer managed key with automatic rotation enabled
Why this is correct
Customer managed keys can have automatic rotation enabled with a yearly frequency, which aligns with the requirement.
Quick reference
Symmetric Encryption Algorithm Comparison
| Algorithm | Key Size | Block Size | Status | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| AES-128 | 128-bit | 128-bit | Current standard | NIST approved; WPA3, TLS |
| AES-256 | 256-bit | 128-bit | Current standard | Preferred for sensitive / govt data |
| 3DES | 112-bit effective | 64-bit | Deprecated (2023) | Replaced by AES |
| DES | 56-bit | 64-bit | Broken | Cracked in < 24 h; never deploy |
| ChaCha20 | 256-bit | Stream cipher | Current | TLS 1.3, WireGuard |
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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.