This DVA-C02 practice question tests your understanding of 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 is using an S3 bucket to store sensitive documents. They need to ensure that all objects are encrypted at rest using server-side encryption with AWS KMS. The bucket policy must enforce encryption by denying uploads that do not specify the required encryption. Which bucket policy statement should be added?
Option A is correct because the bucket policy uses the `s3:x-amz-server-side-encryption` condition key with `StringNotEquals` to deny any upload where the header does not specify `aws:kms`. This ensures that only objects encrypted with AWS KMS (SSE-KMS) are allowed, enforcing server-side encryption at rest. The `Deny` effect combined with this condition blocks requests that either omit the encryption header or specify a different value like `AES256`.
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.
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is that candidates often confuse the condition key `s3:x-amz-server-side-encryption` with the KMS-specific key `s3:x-amz-server-side-encryption-aws:kms` (which does not exist), or they mistakenly use `Null` to check for the header's presence without validating its value, allowing SSE-S3 (AES256) uploads to bypass the policy.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
Under the hood, S3 bucket policies are evaluated before the request is processed; the `s3:x-amz-server-side-encryption` condition key checks the value of the `x-amz-server-side-encryption` header in the PUT request. For SSE-KMS, the header value must be `aws:kms`, while for SSE-S3 it is `AES256`. A common subtlety is that the `Deny` effect with `StringNotEquals` is more robust than `Allow` with `StringEquals` because it explicitly blocks non-compliant requests, including those missing the header entirely, since a missing header does not equal `aws:kms`.
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.
TExam Day Tips
→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 media company stores terabytes of video archives that are accessed once a year for audit purposes. Moving these objects to a cold storage tier (Azure Archive, S3 Glacier, or Google Nearline) costs a fraction of hot storage. Questions like this test whether you understand storage tiers, access frequency tradeoffs, and retrieval latency requirements.
What to study next
Got this wrong? Here's your next step.
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
Security — This question tests Security — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Condition: StringNotEquals: 's3:x-amz-server-side-encryption': 'aws:kms' — Option A is correct because the bucket policy uses the `s3:x-amz-server-side-encryption` condition key with `StringNotEquals` to deny any upload where the header does not specify `aws:kms`. This ensures that only objects encrypted with AWS KMS (SSE-KMS) are allowed, enforcing server-side encryption at rest. The `Deny` effect combined with this condition blocks requests that either omit the encryption header or specify a different value like `AES256`.
What should I do if I get this DVA-C02 question wrong?
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
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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