The correct configuration is to use default encryption with SSE-KMS and specify the customer managed key ID. This meets the requirement because SSE-KMS allows you to select a customer managed key, which gives you full control over key policies, usage, and automatic rotation—enabling you to set a rotation period of 90 days to one year. On the AWS Certified Data Engineer Associate DEA-C01 exam, this question tests your ability to distinguish between S3 encryption options, with a common trap being confusion between SSE-KMS with an AWS managed key (which you cannot control or rotate automatically) and a customer managed key. Remember that only customer managed keys support automatic rotation and granular access control. A helpful memory tip: “Customer controls rotation, AWS manages the default.”
DEA-C01 Data Security and Governance Practice Question
This DEA-C01 practice question tests your understanding of data security and governance. This is a configuration task: choose the command set that satisfies every stated requirement. Small differences — like 'secret' vs 'password' or 'transport input ssh' vs 'all' — change whether the answer is correct. 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 engineering team needs to encrypt data at rest in an Amazon S3 bucket that stores sensitive customer information. The team must use an AWS Key Management Service (AWS KMS) customer managed key with automatic rotation enabled. Which configuration 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 default encryption with SSE-KMS and specify the customer managed key ID.
Option B is correct because it enables SSE-KMS with a customer managed key that has automatic key rotation. Option A is wrong because SSE-S3 uses AWS managed keys without customer control. Option C is wrong because SSE-C requires the customer to manage the key and does not support automatic rotation. Option D is wrong because SSE-KMS with an AWS managed key does not allow customer control.
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 default encryption with SSE-KMS and specify the customer managed key ID.
Why this is correct
SSE-KMS with a customer managed key allows automatic rotation and customer control.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
✗
Use default encryption with SSE-S3.
Why it's wrong here
SSE-S3 uses AWS managed keys, not customer managed keys.
✗
Use default encryption with SSE-C and provide a customer-provided key.
Why it's wrong here
SSE-C does not support automatic key rotation.
✗
Use default encryption with SSE-KMS and leave the key ID empty to use the AWS managed key.
Why it's wrong here
AWS managed key does not provide customer control.
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 default encryption with SSE-KMS and specify the customer managed key ID. — Option B is correct because it enables SSE-KMS with a customer managed key that has automatic key rotation. Option A is wrong because SSE-S3 uses AWS managed keys without customer control. Option C is wrong because SSE-C requires the customer to manage the key and does not support automatic rotation. Option D is wrong because SSE-KMS with an AWS managed key does not allow customer control.
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.
About these practice questions
Courseiva creates original exam-style practice questions with explanations and wrong-answer analysis. It does not publish real exam questions, exam dumps, or protected exam content. Learn why practice questions differ from exam dumps →
These questions test the same concept from different angles. Work through them to make sure you can recognise it however the exam phrases it.
Variation 1. A data engineer needs to encrypt data at rest in Amazon S3 using server-side encryption with a customer-managed KMS key. Which TWO steps are required to ensure that the KMS key can be used for S3 object encryption?
medium
A.Configure a VPC endpoint for KMS to allow S3 to access the key.
B.Set the S3 bucket policy to require SSE-KMS for all PutObject requests.
✓ C.Add a statement in the KMS key policy that allows the S3 service to use the key.
✓ D.Grant the IAM role that writes objects the kms:GenerateDataKey and kms:Decrypt permissions.
E.Create a service-linked role for S3 to access KMS.
Why C: Options A and B are correct. The KMS key policy must grant the S3 service principal kms:GenerateDataKey and kms:Decrypt permissions. Option C is not required because S3 does not use KMS via VPC. Option D is not required because S3 does not need to assume a role for SSE-KMS. Option E is not required because SSE-KMS does not use S3 bucket policies.
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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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