DEA-C01 Data Security and Governance Practice Question
A data engineer is designing a data lake on Amazon S3 that must comply with a regulatory requirement to prevent any data from being overwritten or deleted for 7 years after creation. Which S3 feature 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
✓
S3 Object Lock with retention mode set to COMPLIANCE
S3 Object Lock with retention mode set to COMPLIANCE ensures that objects cannot be overwritten or deleted for the specified retention period (7 years). The retention period cannot be shortened or removed by any user, including the root user, making it suitable for regulatory compliance. Option A is incorrect because a bucket policy that denies s3:DeleteObject can be modified or removed, and it does not prevent overwrites. Option B is incorrect because MFA Delete requires an additional authentication factor but can still be disabled by an authorized user, and it does not enforce a retention period. Option D is incorrect because bucket versioning alone does not prevent deletion; it only creates delete markers, and objects can still be permanently deleted.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
S3 bucket policy that denies s3:DeleteObject
Why it's wrong here
Bucket policy can be changed or bypassed by root.
- ✗
S3 bucket versioning with MFA Delete
Why it's wrong here
MFA Delete can be disabled by the root user, not fully compliant.
- ✓
S3 Object Lock with retention mode set to COMPLIANCE
Why this is correct
COMPLIANCE retention prevents any deletion or overwrite during the retention period.
- ✗
S3 bucket versioning only
Why it's wrong here
Versioning does not prevent deletion; delete markers can be added.
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.