This DVA-C02 practice question tests your understanding of security. The scenario asks you to isolate a root cause — eliminate options that address a different problem before choosing. 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.
Refer to the exhibit. A developer applies this IAM policy to an IAM user. What is the effective result when the user attempts to download an object from the 'confidential' folder in the 'my-company-data' bucket?
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
The user cannot download objects from the confidential folder due to the explicit Deny.
The correct answer is A because IAM policies follow an explicit deny override, meaning that even if an Allow statement grants access, an explicit Deny statement for the same action will take precedence. In this policy, the Deny statement explicitly denies s3:GetObject for the 'confidential' folder (using a condition with StringLike on the ARN), so the user cannot download objects from that folder regardless of the Allow statement.
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.
✓
The user cannot download objects from the confidential folder due to the explicit Deny.
Why this is correct
Explicit Deny takes precedence over Allow.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
✗
The user can download objects from the confidential folder but cannot upload to it.
Why it's wrong here
The Deny applies to GetObject, not PutObject, but the explicit Deny blocks GetObject regardless.
✗
The user cannot download objects from any folder because the policy is invalid.
Why it's wrong here
The policy is valid; the user can access other folders.
✗
The user can download objects from the confidential folder because the Allow statement grants access.
Why it's wrong here
The Deny statement overrides the Allow.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is that candidates often assume an Allow statement alone grants access, forgetting that an explicit Deny always takes precedence, even if the Allow appears broader or more permissive.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
IAM policy evaluation logic uses a default deny, then applies any Allow statements, and finally any explicit Deny statements override all Allows. The condition in the Deny uses StringLike with the ARN pattern 'arn:aws:s3:::my-company-data/confidential/*', which matches any object in that folder, ensuring the Deny is scoped precisely. In real-world scenarios, this pattern is used to enforce data segmentation, such as preventing HR users from accessing payroll files while allowing general bucket access.
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: The user cannot download objects from the confidential folder due to the explicit Deny. — The correct answer is A because IAM policies follow an explicit deny override, meaning that even if an Allow statement grants access, an explicit Deny statement for the same action will take precedence. In this policy, the Deny statement explicitly denies s3:GetObject for the 'confidential' folder (using a condition with StringLike on the ARN), so the user cannot download objects from that folder regardless of the Allow statement.
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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