The answer is AWS CloudHSM, which provides customer-managed encryption keys with annual rotation for Redshift at rest. This service uses dedicated hardware security modules (HSMs) to give you full control over key creation, storage, and lifecycle management, including the ability to enforce an annual rotation policy that meets strict compliance requirements. On the AWS Certified Data Engineer Associate DEA-C01 exam, this scenario tests your understanding of where CloudHSM fits versus AWS KMS: while KMS can use customer-managed keys (CMKs) with automatic annual rotation, CloudHSM is the correct choice when the question explicitly demands dedicated, isolated hardware control rather than a shared software-based key store. A common trap is selecting KMS because it also offers rotation, but the key differentiator is CloudHSM’s hardware-level isolation for regulatory mandates. Remember the mnemonic “Hardware for Hard Requirements” — if the exam mentions dedicated control or annual rotation with customer-managed keys for Redshift, think CloudHSM first.
DEA-C01 Data Security and Governance Practice Question
This DEA-C01 practice question tests your understanding of data security and governance. The scenario asks you to isolate a root cause — eliminate options that address a different problem before choosing. 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 needs to encrypt data at rest in an Amazon Redshift cluster. The company requires that the encryption key be managed by the customer and rotated annually. Which solution meets these requirements?
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Use AWS CloudHSM to create and manage the encryption key, and configure Redshift to use it.
Option C is correct because AWS CloudHSM provides dedicated hardware security modules for key management, allowing customer-managed keys with rotation. Option A is incorrect because Redshift cannot use Secrets Manager for encryption keys. Option B is incorrect because AWS KMS with automatic rotation meets the rotation requirement but the key is AWS-managed unless using customer-managed KMS keys; however, CloudHSM is more appropriate for dedicated control. Option D is incorrect because S3 server-side encryption is not applicable to Redshift.
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.
✗
Use S3 server-side encryption with customer-provided keys (SSE-C).
Why it's wrong here
SSE-C is for S3, not Redshift.
✗
Use AWS Secrets Manager to store the encryption key and configure Redshift to reference it.
Why it's wrong here
Redshift does not support Secrets Manager for encryption keys.
✗
Use AWS KMS with automatic key rotation enabled.
Why it's wrong here
KMS is suitable but does not provide dedicated HSM; CloudHSM is better for customer-managed keys.
✓
Use AWS CloudHSM to create and manage the encryption key, and configure Redshift to use it.
Why this is correct
CloudHSM provides customer-managed HSMs with key rotation capabilities.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
Many certification questions include familiar terms but test a specific constraint. Read the exact wording before choosing an answer that is generally true but wrong for this case.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
This question should be treated as a scenario, not a definition check. Identify the problem, the constraint and the best action. Then compare each option against those facts.
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.
Use explanations to understand the rule behind the answer.
TExam Day Tips
→Underline the problem statement mentally.
→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 DEA-C01 exam domain this question belongs to, then review the specific concept being tested. Practise related questions in that domain and focus on understanding why each wrong answer is tempting — not just why the correct answer is right.
Data Security and Governance — This question tests Data Security and Governance — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Use AWS CloudHSM to create and manage the encryption key, and configure Redshift to use it. — Option C is correct because AWS CloudHSM provides dedicated hardware security modules for key management, allowing customer-managed keys with rotation. Option A is incorrect because Redshift cannot use Secrets Manager for encryption keys. Option B is incorrect because AWS KMS with automatic rotation meets the rotation requirement but the key is AWS-managed unless using customer-managed KMS keys; however, CloudHSM is more appropriate for dedicated control. Option D is incorrect because S3 server-side encryption is not applicable to Redshift.
What should I do if I get this DEA-C01 question wrong?
Identify which DEA-C01 exam domain this question belongs to, then review the specific concept being tested. Practise related questions in that domain and focus on understanding why each wrong answer is tempting — not just why the correct answer is right.
What is the key concept behind this question?
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
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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
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