DEA-C01 Data Security and Governance Practice Question
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 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
✓
Use AWS KMS with automatic key rotation enabled.
AWS KMS with a customer-managed key (CMK) allows you to control the encryption key and enables automatic annual rotation. Amazon Redshift natively integrates with KMS for encryption at rest, making this a straightforward solution. Option D is incorrect because CloudHSM is not directly integrated with Redshift for encryption at rest; it requires custom configuration and is typically overkill for the requirement of annual rotation. Option A is incorrect because SSE-C is used for S3 objects, not Redshift. Option B is incorrect because Secrets Manager is designed for secrets like database credentials, not for encryption keys used by Redshift.
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 used for S3 objects, not for Redshift cluster encryption.
- ✗
Use AWS Secrets Manager to store the encryption key and configure Redshift to reference it.
Why it's wrong here
Secrets Manager is for managing secrets like database credentials, not for encryption keys in Redshift.
- ✓
Use AWS KMS with automatic key rotation enabled.
Why this is correct
KMS with a customer-managed key allows you to manage the key and enables automatic annual rotation, meeting the requirement. Redshift natively supports KMS for encryption at rest.
- ✗
Use AWS CloudHSM to create and manage the encryption key, and configure Redshift to use it.
Why it's wrong here
While AWS CloudHSM provides dedicated hardware security modules for managing encryption keys, it does not natively support automatic annual key rotation for Amazon Redshift. This makes it unsuitable for the stated requirement, even though it would be a tempting choice for organisations needing the highest level of key control and compliance with stringent regulatory demands regarding physical key security.
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.