DEA-C01 Data Security and Governance Practice Question
A data engineer is troubleshooting an AWS Lake Formation permissions issue. A user is able to query an Amazon Athena table but cannot see the underlying S3 data in the AWS Glue Data Catalog. The user has been granted SELECT permission on the table in Lake Formation. What is the most likely cause?
⚠ Common exam trap
It's easy for candidates to assume SELECT permission is sufficient for all table interactions, overlooking that Lake Formation separates metadata visibility (DESCRIBE) from data access (SELECT).
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
✓
The user does not have DESCRIBE permission on the table in Lake Formation.
In AWS Lake Formation, the ability to query a table via Athena (which requires SELECT permission) is separate from the ability to view the table's metadata in the Glue Data Catalog. To see the underlying S3 data location or table properties in the catalog, a user needs DESCRIBE permission on the table. Without DESCRIBE, the table appears invisible in the Glue console or API, even though SELECT queries succeed.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✓
The user does not have DESCRIBE permission on the table in Lake Formation.
Why this is correct
SELECT permission allows querying but not viewing the table metadata; DESCRIBE is needed to see the table in the catalog.
- ✗
The data location is not registered with Lake Formation.
Why it's wrong here
If the table exists, the location is likely registered.
- ✗
The S3 bucket policy does not grant the user access.
Why it's wrong here
Lake Formation can grant access without explicit bucket policy.
- ✗
The user does not have the aws:SourceArn condition in the IAM policy.
Why it's wrong here
This is not required for accessing the Data Catalog.
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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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.