DEA-C01 Data Store Management Practice Question
A data engineer is configuring an Amazon S3 bucket that stores sensitive customer records for analytics. The security team requires that all data be encrypted at rest with keys that are rotated automatically every year and that access be auditable per key. The engineer must minimize operational overhead. Which encryption configuration should be used?
⚠ Common exam trap
The trap here is assuming that SSE-S3 or an AWS managed KMS key provides configurable annual rotation and per-key auditing, when only a customer managed KMS key with rotation enabled meets both requirements.
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 with a customer managed key with automatic rotation enabled
The requirement combines automatic annual key rotation, per-key auditability, and minimal operational overhead. A KMS customer managed key with automatic rotation enabled provides all three: S3 encrypts objects server-side, CloudTrail records key usage, and rotation occurs yearly without manual intervention. AWS managed keys rotate on a different schedule and offer less policy control, while SSE-S3 and SSE-C lack the needed audit or rotation behavior.
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-S3 with bucket key enabled
Why it's wrong here
SSE-S3 uses Amazon S3-managed keys and provides encryption at rest, but it does not expose key-level audit trails or configurable annual rotation policies. The security team's requirement for per-key auditing and automatic yearly rotation cannot be met because the keys are fully managed by S3 with no customer visibility. Bucket keys only reduce KMS request costs and do not add auditability here.
- ✗
SSE-C with customer-provided keys stored in AWS Secrets Manager
Why it's wrong here
SSE-C requires the caller to supply the encryption key on every PUT and GET request, and AWS does not store the key. Rotation and auditing become the customer's responsibility, which increases operational overhead rather than minimizing it. Although Secrets Manager can store the key, this design does not provide the native per-key CloudTrail auditing and automatic rotation that a KMS customer managed key offers.
- ✓
SSE-KMS with a customer managed key with automatic rotation enabled
Why this is correct
A customer managed KMS key supports enabling automatic key rotation on an annual schedule, and every use of the key is recorded in AWS CloudTrail for auditing. Object encryption at rest is enforced through SSE-KMS, and the data engineer retains control of the key policy. This satisfies the rotation, auditability, and low operational overhead requirements without managing raw key material.
- ✗
SSE-KMS with an AWS managed key (aws/s3)
Why it's wrong here
SSE-KMS with the AWS managed key aws/s3 encrypts objects and logs key usage in CloudTrail, but the rotation of AWS managed keys is controlled by AWS on a three-year cycle, not the required annual schedule. The team also cannot set a custom key policy or audit per-key usage granularity the way a customer managed key allows. This option fails the yearly rotation requirement.
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 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.