DBS-C01 Customer-managed KMS key Practice Question
A company has an Amazon RDS for SQL Server DB instance that stores financial data. The security team requires that the data be encrypted at rest using a customer-managed key stored in AWS KMS. Additionally, they want to ensure that the key cannot be deleted without authorization. What should be done?
⚠ Common exam trap
Candidates may confuse key rotation with deletion protection; both are required here. Deleting the KMS key would render encrypted data unrecoverable.
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
✓
Create a customer-managed KMS key, enable key rotation, and set a deletion protection policy.
Creating a customer-managed KMS key allows you to control key rotation and deletion protection, meeting the security requirements. Option B is wrong because using the default KMS key does not provide a customer-managed key. Option C is wrong because AWS CloudHSM is not directly used for RDS encryption at rest; KMS is the required service. Option D is wrong because AWS CloudTrail only logs actions but does not prevent key deletion.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✓
Create a customer-managed KMS key, enable key rotation, and set a deletion protection policy.
Why this is correct
KMS supports customer-managed keys with rotation and deletion protection.
- ✗
Enable encryption on the RDS instance and use the default KMS key.
Why it's wrong here
The default key is AWS-managed, not customer-managed, and does not have deletion protection.
- ✗
Use AWS CloudHSM to generate and store the encryption key, and associate it with the RDS instance.
Why it's wrong here
RDS encryption with KMS does not support CloudHSM keys directly.
- ✗
Enable AWS CloudTrail to log key deletion attempts.
Why it's wrong here
Logging does not prevent deletion.
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JA
Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
This DBS-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 DBS-C01 exam.