DBS-C01 Workload-Specific Database Design Practice Question
A healthcare application stores patient records in Amazon DynamoDB. Each record has a unique patient ID and contains sensitive health information. The application must encrypt data at rest and ensure that only authorized services can access the data. Which combination of design choices meets these requirements?
⚠ Common exam trap
A common mix-up: candidates confuse encryption mechanisms across services (e.g., applying S3 encryption to DynamoDB) or assume that network controls like VPC endpoints replace the need for IAM-based authorization.
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 DynamoDB encryption at rest using AWS KMS and use IAM policies to restrict access.
DynamoDB encryption at rest using AWS KMS provides server-side encryption for sensitive patient data, while IAM policies allow fine-grained access control to ensure only authorized services can access the table. This combination directly meets both the encryption and access control requirements without unnecessary complexity or service mismatches.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Implement client-side encryption and use Lambda to validate access.
Why it's wrong here
Client-side encryption alone does not satisfy the requirement for DynamoDB to encrypt data at rest, because the encryption occurs before the data reaches the service, leaving the stored data unencrypted from DynamoDB’s perspective. This option is tempting because client-side encryption is a valid approach for end-to-end confidentiality when the storage provider must never see plaintext, but here the stem explicitly requires the database itself to encrypt data at rest, which demands server-side encryption with AWS KMS.
- ✗
Enable S3 server-side encryption with AWS KMS and use bucket policies.
Why it's wrong here
S3 is not the database service.
- ✓
Enable DynamoDB encryption at rest using AWS KMS and use IAM policies to restrict access.
Why this is correct
DynamoDB integrates with KMS for encryption and IAM for access control.
- ✗
Use AWS CloudHSM for key storage and VPC endpoints for access control.
Why it's wrong here
CloudHSM is not integrated with DynamoDB encryption.
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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.