DEA-C01 Data Store Management Practice Question
A data engineer is setting up Amazon S3 bucket policies for a data lake. The security team requires that all objects uploaded to the bucket be encrypted at rest using server-side encryption. Which TWO methods can enforce encryption at upload time?
⚠ Common exam trap
Many exam-takers confuse default encryption (which applies encryption automatically but does not block unencrypted uploads) with a bucket policy that explicitly denies unencrypted uploads, thinking either alone is sufficient, when both are needed for full enforcement.
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
✓
Enable S3 default encryption on the bucket.
Enabling S3 default encryption on the bucket automatically applies server-side encryption (SSE-S3 or SSE-KMS) to all objects uploaded without an encryption header, ensuring encryption at rest. Option E is correct because a bucket policy with a Deny effect on PutObject when the x-amz-server-side-encryption header is missing enforces encryption at upload time by rejecting unencrypted uploads, providing a complementary enforcement mechanism.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Enable S3 Transfer Acceleration.
Why it's wrong here
Transfer Acceleration does not enforce encryption.
- ✗
Enable AWS CloudTrail to monitor uploads.
Why it's wrong here
Monitoring does not enforce encryption.
- ✗
Enable AWS KMS automatic key rotation.
Why it's wrong here
Key rotation does not enforce encryption.
- ✓
Enable S3 default encryption on the bucket.
Why this is correct
Default encryption automatically encrypts objects.
- ✓
Create a bucket policy that denies PutObject if the x-amz-server-side-encryption header is missing.
Why this is correct
Denies uploads without encryption header.
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.