DBS-C01 Database Security Practice Question
A company is using Amazon Aurora MySQL and needs to audit all database logins, including failed attempts, and store the audit logs for one year for compliance. The logs must be immutable and accessible only by the security team. Which solution should the company implement?
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 RDS for Aurora database activity streams, stream to CloudWatch Logs, and export to S3 with S3 Object Lock enabled.
Amazon Aurora MySQL supports Database Activity Streams, which capture detailed audit information including login attempts (both successful and failed). These streams can be sent to Amazon CloudWatch Logs for monitoring and then exported to Amazon S3. To ensure immutability and restricted access, S3 Object Lock can be enabled, preventing any updates or deletions, and S3 bucket policies can limit access to only the security team. Option A is incorrect because VPC Flow Logs capture network-level traffic, not database login events. Option B is incorrect because AWS CloudTrail logs API calls made to AWS services, not database-level login attempts. Option D is incorrect because the standard MySQL audit log plugin stores logs in a table that can be modified, lacking immutability, and does not natively integrate with S3 Object Lock for long-term immutable storage.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Enable VPC Flow Logs to capture network connections to the database endpoint.
Why it's wrong here
Flow logs capture network traffic, not login events.
- ✗
Enable AWS CloudTrail to log database login events.
Why it's wrong here
CloudTrail does not capture database login events.
- ✓
Enable RDS for Aurora database activity streams, stream to CloudWatch Logs, and export to S3 with S3 Object Lock enabled.
Why this is correct
Activity streams provide immutable audit logs.
- ✗
Enable the standard MySQL audit log plugin and store logs in a database table with restricted access.
Why it's wrong here
Standard audit log in a table is not immutable.
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 |
Go deeper
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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.