- A
S3 bucket policies with IAM policies and AWS CloudTrail with data events
Bucket and IAM policies control access; CloudTrail logs data events for auditing.
- B
Amazon S3 access points and VPC endpoints
Why wrong: Access points help with access, but VPC endpoints don't provide logging.
- C
Amazon Macie to discover PII and S3 Object Lock to prevent deletion
Why wrong: Macie discovers but doesn't control access; Object Lock prevents deletion, not unauthorized access.
- D
AWS KMS to encrypt data and AWS CloudTrail to log access
Why wrong: KMS does not enforce access control; it's for encryption.
DEA-C01 Data Store Management Practice Question
This DEA-C01 practice question tests your understanding of data store management. Match the stated requirement to the specific cloud service, access model, or configuration option — many options are valid in isolation but not for this scenario. 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 company is designing a data lake on Amazon S3. The data includes personal identifiable information (PII). The data engineer must ensure that only authorized users can access the data, and that access is logged for auditing. Which combination of services should the data engineer use?
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
S3 bucket policies with IAM policies and AWS CloudTrail with data events
Option A is correct because S3 bucket policies combined with IAM policies provide fine-grained access control to restrict who can access the data, while AWS CloudTrail with data events logs every S3 object-level operation (e.g., GetObject, PutObject) for auditing. This combination directly meets the requirements of authorized access and logging for PII data.
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.
- ✓
S3 bucket policies with IAM policies and AWS CloudTrail with data events
Why this is correct
Bucket and IAM policies control access; CloudTrail logs data events for auditing.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
- ✗
Amazon S3 access points and VPC endpoints
Why it's wrong here
Access points help with access, but VPC endpoints don't provide logging.
- ✗
Amazon Macie to discover PII and S3 Object Lock to prevent deletion
Why it's wrong here
Macie discovers but doesn't control access; Object Lock prevents deletion, not unauthorized access.
- ✗
AWS KMS to encrypt data and AWS CloudTrail to log access
Why it's wrong here
KMS does not enforce access control; it's for encryption.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is that candidates often assume CloudTrail automatically logs all S3 operations, but it only logs management events by default; data events must be explicitly enabled, and many overlook this distinction when designing for auditing.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
AWS CloudTrail data events for S3 are not enabled by default; they must be explicitly configured in a trail to log object-level operations such as GetObject, PutObject, and DeleteObject. This is critical for auditing PII access because management events (e.g., bucket creation) do not capture who read a specific file. Additionally, S3 bucket policies can use the Principal element with IAM roles to enforce least privilege, and combining them with IAM policies allows for cross-account access control.
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.
TExam Day Tips
- 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.
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 |
What to study next
Got this wrong? Here's your next step.
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
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FAQ
Questions learners often ask
What does this DEA-C01 question test?
Data Store Management — This question tests Data Store Management — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: S3 bucket policies with IAM policies and AWS CloudTrail with data events — Option A is correct because S3 bucket policies combined with IAM policies provide fine-grained access control to restrict who can access the data, while AWS CloudTrail with data events logs every S3 object-level operation (e.g., GetObject, PutObject) for auditing. This combination directly meets the requirements of authorized access and logging for PII data.
What should I do if I get this DEA-C01 question wrong?
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
What is the key concept behind this question?
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
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Last reviewed: Jul 4, 2026
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.
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