DVA-C02 Security Practice Question
A company has an Amazon S3 bucket that stores sensitive documents. The security team wants to ensure that all GET requests to the bucket are authenticated and that the requester does not have public access. Which combination of S3 features should the developer implement?
⚠ Common exam trap
Test-takers frequently confuse MFA Delete or encryption with authentication controls, not realizing that only explicit public access blocking combined with network-level restrictions (like Access Points) can prevent unauthenticated GET requests.
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
✓
Block public access and enable S3 Access Points with a network origin policy
Blocking public access at the bucket level ensures that no anonymous or public requests can reach the bucket, while S3 Access Points with a network origin policy restrict access to requests originating from a specific VPC or on-premises network. This combination enforces that all GET requests must be authenticated (via the Access Point's IAM policies) and cannot come from public internet sources, meeting the security team's requirements.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✓
Block public access and enable S3 Access Points with a network origin policy
Why this is correct
This combination directly addresses the security of sensitive documents by preventing any public exposure. S3 Block Public Access is a critical account-level or bucket-level setting that overrides all other permissions, ensuring no object can be publicly accessed, regardless of bucket policies or ACLs. S3 Access Points, when configured with a network origin policy, allow granular control, restricting access to specific VPCs or IP ranges, further enhancing security by limiting the network attack surface while still enabling authenticated access for authorized users or applications within the defined network boundaries.
- ✗
Enable S3 Object Lock and versioning
Why it's wrong here
S3 Object Lock, in combination with versioning, provides immutability for objects, preventing accidental or malicious deletion or overwriting for a specified retention period. While crucial for data integrity, compliance, and recovery from accidental deletion, these features do not inherently control who can *access* the data or prevent public exposure. They operate on the data's lifecycle and integrity, not on its access control or network perimeter, thus failing to secure sensitive documents from unauthorized viewing.
- ✗
Use S3 Transfer Acceleration and server-side encryption
Why it's wrong here
S3 Transfer Acceleration utilizes CloudFront's edge locations to speed up data transfers to and from S3 buckets, optimizing performance for geographically dispersed users. Server-side encryption (SSE) protects data at rest by encrypting objects before saving them to disk and decrypting them upon retrieval. While both are important for performance and data protection, neither feature provides mechanisms for access control, authentication, or preventing public access, leaving sensitive documents vulnerable to unauthorized retrieval if access policies are not properly configured.
- ✗
Configure a bucket policy that allows only specific IAM users and enable MFA Delete
Why it's wrong here
Configuring a bucket policy to allow specific IAM users is a fundamental step for granting least-privilege access. MFA Delete adds an extra layer of security for object deletion, requiring multi-factor authentication for critical operations. However, a bucket policy alone might not override overly permissive Access Control Lists (ACLs) or other conflicting bucket policies that could inadvertently grant public access. Without explicitly enabling S3 Block Public Access, there remains a significant risk of misconfiguration leading to public exposure, making this solution incomplete for securing sensitive documents against all forms of public access.
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
Related to this question
About these practice questions
Courseiva writes every DVA-C02 question from scratch — 724 in total, each with an explanation and a wrong-answer breakdown. None are copied from real exams or dumps. Learn why practice questions differ from exam dumps →
JA
Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
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.