The correct solution is to create a customer managed KMS key in the central security account and grant cross-account permissions to the RDS service principal in each member account. This works because AWS KMS allows you to define a key policy that authorizes external AWS accounts or services to use the key for encryption operations, and the RDS service in each account can then specify this central key ARN when creating or modifying encrypted instances. On the AWS Certified Database Specialty DBS-C01 exam, this question tests your understanding that KMS multi-Region keys solve cross-Region, not cross-account, sharing—a common trap. Remember that RDS encryption requires the key to be in the same Region as the database, but the key’s management account can be different. Memory tip: “Central key, cross-account grant—RDS encrypts where it’s planted.”
DBS-C01 Database Security Practice Question
This DBS-C01 practice question tests your understanding of database security. 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 has a multi-account AWS environment using AWS Organizations. The security team wants to centrally manage database encryption keys for all Amazon RDS instances across accounts. They require that the keys be stored in a single account, and that each account can use the key to encrypt its RDS instances. Additionally, they want to automatically rotate the keys every year. Which solution should they implement?
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Create a customer managed KMS key in the central account and grant the RDS service in each account permission to use the key.
Option C is correct. AWS KMS supports multi-Region keys but not cross-account key sharing for RDS encryption. Instead, they can create a customer managed key in each account and use AWS CloudFormation StackSets to deploy the same key policy across accounts. However, the requirement is to store keys in a single account. Actually, the correct approach is to create a KMS key in the central account and grant cross-account access to the RDS service principal in each account. Then each account can use that key for RDS encryption. Option A is wrong because multi-Region keys are for cross-Region, not cross-account. Option B is wrong because CloudHSM is not integrated with RDS for encryption. Option D is wrong because copying keys to each account defeats central management.
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.
✗
Copy the KMS key from the central account to each account using the KMS key replication feature.
Why it's wrong here
KMS keys cannot be copied across accounts.
✗
Use AWS CloudHSM to create a key and share the HSM partition with each account.
Why it's wrong here
RDS does not support CloudHSM for encryption.
✗
Create a multi-Region customer managed KMS key in the central account and replicate it to each account.
Why it's wrong here
Multi-Region keys are for cross-Region, not cross-account.
✓
Create a customer managed KMS key in the central account and grant the RDS service in each account permission to use the key.
Why this is correct
KMS supports cross-account key usage for RDS encryption.
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 company's IT admin needs to give a contractor read-only access to production logs without sharing account credentials. Using role-based access control (RBAC) and temporary scoped permissions — not a permanent shared password — is the correct pattern. Questions like this test whether you can apply least-privilege access across cloud identity services.
What to study next
Got this wrong? Here's your next step.
Identify which DBS-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.
Database Security — This question tests Database Security — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Create a customer managed KMS key in the central account and grant the RDS service in each account permission to use the key. — Option C is correct. AWS KMS supports multi-Region keys but not cross-account key sharing for RDS encryption. Instead, they can create a customer managed key in each account and use AWS CloudFormation StackSets to deploy the same key policy across accounts. However, the requirement is to store keys in a single account. Actually, the correct approach is to create a KMS key in the central account and grant cross-account access to the RDS service principal in each account. Then each account can use that key for RDS encryption. Option A is wrong because multi-Region keys are for cross-Region, not cross-account. Option B is wrong because CloudHSM is not integrated with RDS for encryption. Option D is wrong because copying keys to each account defeats central management.
What should I do if I get this DBS-C01 question wrong?
Identify which DBS-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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Question Discussion
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