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 developer is designing a system to store sensitive user data in Amazon S3. The data must be encrypted at rest and the encryption keys must be rotated annually. Which services can be used to meet these requirements? (Choose THREE.)
Amazon S3 SSE-KMS
SSE-KMS uses KMS keys that can be rotated.
AWS Secrets Manager
Secrets Manager can rotate secrets and uses KMS for encryption.
AWS Certificate Manager (ACM)
Why wrong: ACM manages SSL/TLS certificates, not encryption keys for S3.
AWS KMS
KMS supports automatic key rotation for CMKs.
AWS CloudHSM
Why wrong: CloudHSM provides dedicated HSMs but does not offer automatic key rotation.
Answer choices
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
Amazon S3 SSE-KMS
Amazon S3 SSE-KMS (Server-Side Encryption with AWS KMS managed keys) allows you to encrypt data at rest in S3 using customer master keys (CMKs) stored in AWS KMS. With SSE-KMS, you can enable automatic annual rotation of the CMK by configuring key rotation in AWS KMS, which meets the requirement for rotating encryption keys annually.
Key principle: Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Answer analysis
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
Amazon S3 SSE-KMS
Why this is correct
SSE-KMS uses KMS keys that can be rotated.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
AWS Secrets Manager
Why this is correct
Secrets Manager can rotate secrets and uses KMS for encryption.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
AWS Certificate Manager (ACM)
Why it's wrong here
ACM manages SSL/TLS certificates, not encryption keys for S3.
AWS KMS
Why this is correct
KMS supports automatic key rotation for CMKs.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
AWS CloudHSM
Why it's wrong here
CloudHSM provides dedicated HSMs but does not offer automatic key rotation.
Common exam traps
The trap here is that candidates often confuse AWS KMS with AWS CloudHSM, thinking both support automatic key rotation, but CloudHSM requires manual rotation and lacks native S3 integration for SSE.
Detailed technical explanation
SSE-KMS works by having S3 request a data key from AWS KMS for each object upload; the data key encrypts the object, and the encrypted data key is stored alongside the object. When you enable automatic key rotation on a symmetric CMK, AWS KMS rotates the backing key annually (approximately 365 days) but retains the old backing keys so that previously encrypted data can still be decrypted. This ensures that new objects are encrypted with a new backing key while old objects remain accessible.
Key takeaway
Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Real-world example
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.
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FAQ
Security — This question tests Security — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
The correct answer is: Amazon S3 SSE-KMS — Amazon S3 SSE-KMS (Server-Side Encryption with AWS KMS managed keys) allows you to encrypt data at rest in S3 using customer master keys (CMKs) stored in AWS KMS. With SSE-KMS, you can enable automatic annual rotation of the CMK by configuring key rotation in AWS KMS, which meets the requirement for rotating encryption keys annually.
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
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Last reviewed: Jun 24, 2026
This DVA-C02 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 DVA-C02 exam.
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