DEA-C01 Data Security and Governance Practice Question
A data engineer is designing a data lake on S3 and needs to ensure that data is encrypted at rest using customer-managed KMS keys. The engineer also needs to audit all access to the KMS keys. Which combination of services 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
✓
SSE-KMS with AWS CloudTrail
SSE-KMS allows customer-managed KMS keys, and AWS CloudTrail logs all KMS API calls (e.g., Decrypt, GenerateDataKey), enabling auditing. Option B is incorrect because SSE-C uses customer-provided encryption keys, not KMS, and CloudWatch Logs is for application logs, not KMS access. Option C is incorrect because S3 Inventory provides object metadata but does not audit KMS access. Option D is incorrect because SSE-S3 uses AWS-managed keys, not customer-managed, and S3 server access logs do not capture KMS API calls.
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 AWS CloudTrail
Why this is correct
SSE-KMS uses customer-managed KMS keys; CloudTrail records KMS API calls for auditing.
- ✗
SSE-C with CloudWatch Logs
Why it's wrong here
SSE-C uses customer-provided keys, not KMS; CloudWatch Logs is not the primary audit service for KMS.
- ✗
SSE-KMS with S3 Inventory
Why it's wrong here
S3 Inventory tracks object metadata, not KMS usage.
- ✗
SSE-S3 with S3 server access logs
Why it's wrong here
SSE-S3 does not use customer-managed keys.
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.