This DEA-C01 practice question tests your understanding of data store management. Match the stated requirement to the specific cloud service, access model, or configuration option — many options are valid in isolation but not for this scenario. After answering, compare your reasoning against the explanation and wrong-answer breakdown below. Once you have made your selection, read the full explanation to reinforce the concept and understand why each distractor is designed to mislead on exam day.
A data engineer is designing a data lake on Amazon S3. The data includes customer PII that must be encrypted at rest. The company also requires that the encryption keys be rotated automatically every year. Which encryption solution should the engineer use?
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 automatic key rotation enabled
SSE-KMS with automatic key rotation enabled meets both requirements: it encrypts data at rest in S3 and allows the company to automatically rotate the customer master key (CMK) every year. AWS KMS supports automatic annual rotation for symmetric CMKs, which satisfies the compliance need without manual intervention.
Key principle: Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
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 with automatic key rotation enabled
Why this is correct
SSE-KMS allows you to use a customer managed key with automatic annual rotation, giving you control and auditability.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
✗
SSE-S3
Why it's wrong here
SSE-S3 encrypts with S3-managed keys, which are rotated annually, but you have no control or visibility over the rotation.
✗
SSE-C
Why it's wrong here
SSE-C requires you to provide and manage your own encryption keys, including rotation.
✗
Client-side encryption with AWS KMS
Why it's wrong here
Client-side encryption is performed before data is sent to S3, not server-side encryption.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is that candidates often assume SSE-S3 provides automatic key rotation, but SSE-S3 rotates keys on a schedule managed entirely by AWS (approximately every 90 days) and does not allow customer control over the rotation frequency, whereas SSE-KMS with automatic rotation meets the explicit annual requirement.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
SSE-KMS uses envelope encryption: S3 requests a data key from KMS, encrypts the object with that data key, and stores the encrypted data key alongside the object. When automatic key rotation is enabled, KMS generates a new backing key for the CMK each year, but previously encrypted data keys remain decryptable because KMS retains the old backing keys. This ensures seamless rotation without re-encrypting existing objects.
KKey Concepts to Remember
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
Find the constraint that changes the correct option.
Eliminate answers that are true in general but not in this case.
TExam Day Tips
→Watch for words such as best, first, most likely and least administrative effort.
→Review why wrong options are wrong, not only why the correct option is correct.
Key takeaway
Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Real-world example
How this comes up in practice
A media company stores terabytes of video archives that are accessed once a year for audit purposes. Moving these objects to a cold storage tier (Azure Archive, S3 Glacier, or Google Nearline) costs a fraction of hot storage. Questions like this test whether you understand storage tiers, access frequency tradeoffs, and retrieval latency requirements.
What to study next
Got this wrong? Here's your next step.
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
Data Store Management — This question tests Data Store Management — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: SSE-KMS with automatic key rotation enabled — SSE-KMS with automatic key rotation enabled meets both requirements: it encrypts data at rest in S3 and allows the company to automatically rotate the customer master key (CMK) every year. AWS KMS supports automatic annual rotation for symmetric CMKs, which satisfies the compliance need without manual intervention.
What should I do if I get this DEA-C01 question wrong?
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
What is the key concept behind this question?
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
About these practice questions
Courseiva creates original exam-style practice questions with explanations and wrong-answer analysis. It does not publish real exam questions, exam dumps, or protected exam content. Learn why practice questions differ from exam dumps →
Share a tip, memory trick, or ask about the reasoning behind this question. Do not post real exam questions, leaked content, braindumps, or copyrighted exam material. Comments are moderated and may be removed without notice.
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.
Question Discussion
Share a tip, memory trick, or ask about the reasoning behind this question. Do not post real exam questions, leaked content, braindumps, or copyrighted exam material. Comments are moderated and may be removed without notice.
Sign in to join the discussion.