DEA-C01 Data Security and Governance Practice Question
A data engineer is troubleshooting an Amazon Redshift cluster that is not responding to queries. The engineer suspects that the cluster may have been accidentally deleted. Which AWS service should be used to investigate the deletion?
⚠ Common exam trap
DEA-C01 often tests the confusion between CloudTrail (API audit/activity) and AWS Config (resource configuration history), since both can show that a resource no longer exists but only CloudTrail reveals who made the API call.
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
✓
AWS CloudTrail
AWS CloudTrail records API activity in an AWS account, including the DeleteCluster API call that would be logged when a Redshift cluster is deleted. By querying CloudTrail event history or a trail's logs, the engineer can identify who deleted the cluster, when, and from which source IP. This makes CloudTrail the correct service for investigating the deletion event itself.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
AWS Config
Why it's wrong here
AWS Config records resource configuration changes and compliance history, not API-level deletion events or the identity behind them. It is tempting because Config tracks resource state over time, and would be correct for auditing configuration drift or checking whether a resource still conforms to a rule.
- ✓
AWS CloudTrail
Why this is correct
AWS CloudTrail records DeleteCluster API calls, capturing the identity, source IP and timestamp of the deletion. This event history lets the engineer confirm whether the cluster was deleted, by whom, and when, which CloudWatch metrics or cluster logs alone cannot establish.
- ✗
Amazon CloudWatch Logs
Why it's wrong here
CloudWatch Logs holds application and cluster logs, not the control-plane API audit trail that records a DeleteCluster call. It is tempting because Redshift publishes connection and query logs there, and would be correct for diagnosing query failures or performance rather than resource deletion.
- ✗
AWS Trusted Advisor
Why it's wrong here
Trusted Advisor reports cost, security, fault-tolerance and service-limit recommendations; it holds no record of who deleted a Redshift cluster or when. It is tempting because it surfaces account-wide findings, and would be correct for identifying idle resources or approaching service quotas.
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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.