DBS-C01 Deployment and Migration Practice Question
A company is deploying a new multi-AZ Amazon RDS for PostgreSQL database. The security team requires that all traffic to the database be encrypted in transit. Which configuration ensures this?
⚠ Common exam trap
It's easy for candidates to confuse encryption at rest (KMS, CMK) with encryption in transit (SSL/TLS), leading candidates to select options that secure data on disk but not during network transmission.
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
✓
Enable SSL/TLS and require client connections to use SSL
Enabling SSL/TLS on the RDS instance and requiring client connections to use SSL ensures that all data transmitted between clients and the database is encrypted in transit. This is achieved by setting the rds.force_ssl parameter to 1 in the DB parameter group, which enforces SSL/TLS for all connections, meeting the security team's requirement for encryption in transit.
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 a customer master key (CMK) for RDS
Why it's wrong here
CMK is for encryption at rest, not in transit.
- ✓
Enable SSL/TLS and require client connections to use SSL
Why this is correct
SSL/TLS encrypts data in transit.
- ✗
Place the RDS instance in a public subnet
Why it's wrong here
Public subnet does not enforce encryption.
- ✗
Enable encryption at rest using AWS KMS
Why it's wrong here
Encryption at rest with AWS KMS protects data stored on disk, not data in transit between the application and the database. The scenario requires encrypted traffic, which is achieved by enforcing TLS/SSL connections on the RDS instance, not by encrypting the storage layer. This option is tempting because encryption at rest is a common security control, and it would be correct if the requirement were to protect data at rest from physical disk compromise.
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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.