DEA-C01 Data Security and Governance Practice Question
A company wants to securely store database credentials used by a Lambda function. Which AWS service should be used to store and rotate the credentials automatically?
⚠ Common exam trap
DEA-C01 often tests the confusion between Secrets Manager and SSM Parameter Store — candidates pick Parameter Store because it is cheaper, forgetting that only Secrets Manager provides native automatic rotation for database credentials.
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
✓
AWS Secrets Manager
AWS Secrets Manager is purpose-built for storing, retrieving, and automatically rotating secrets such as database credentials, API keys, and OAuth tokens. It natively integrates with Amazon RDS, Redshift, and DocumentDB to rotate credentials on a schedule using Lambda rotation functions. Lambda functions can retrieve secrets at runtime via the Secrets Manager API or the AWS Parameters and Secrets Lambda Extension, avoiding hardcoded credentials.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
AWS CloudHSM
Why it's wrong here
AWS CloudHSM provides dedicated hardware security modules for key operations, but it does not natively store or rotate database credentials; rotation logic must be built manually. It is tempting because it offers strong cryptographic key protection, and would be correct when regulatory requirements mandate single-tenant HSM key storage, not credential lifecycle management.
- ✓
AWS Secrets Manager
Why this is correct
Secrets Manager natively stores credentials and performs scheduled rotation via Lambda, satisfying the automatic rotation requirement. Unlike Systems Manager Parameter Store, it includes built-in rotation for RDS, Redshift and DocumentDB, so no custom rotation logic is needed.
- ✗
AWS Key Management Service (KMS)
Why it's wrong here
KMS is for managing encryption keys, not for storing secrets.
- ✗
AWS Systems Manager Parameter Store
Why it's wrong here
AWS Systems Manager Parameter Store stores values but its rotation requires custom Lambda logic; it lacks native, scheduled rotation for database credentials. It is tempting because Parameter Store suits configuration data and plain secrets where rotation is manual or unnecessary. Secrets Manager provides built-in rotation via Lambda for RDS, Redshift and DocumentDB credentials.
Quick reference
Cloud Service Model Comparison
| Model | You Manage | Provider Manages | Examples |
|---|---|---|---|
| IaaS | OS, runtime, apps, data | Hardware, hypervisor, networking | EC2, Azure VMs, GCP Compute Engine |
| PaaS | Apps and data | OS, runtime, middleware, hardware | Elastic Beanstalk, Azure App Service |
| SaaS | Data and settings only | Everything else | Microsoft 365, Salesforce, Workday |
| FaaS / Serverless | Function code only | Infra, scaling, runtime | Lambda, Azure Functions, Cloud Run |
| CaaS | Containers and apps | Kubernetes, OS, hardware | EKS, AKS, GKE |
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This DEA-C01 question is part of Courseiva's 1,321-question bank — original exam-style content with full explanations and wrong-answer analysis, never real exam questions or exam dumps. Learn why practice questions differ from exam dumps →
JA
Written and reviewed by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
Last reviewed September 2026 · checked against the official Amazon Web Services exam blueprint
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.