The correct answer is to create an Origin Access Identity (OAI) and grant it read access in the bucket policy. This works because an OAI is a special CloudFront user that, when associated with your distribution, allows CloudFront to authenticate requests to the S3 bucket. By configuring the bucket policy to grant read permissions exclusively to that OAI, you effectively restrict S3 bucket access to CloudFront only, blocking all direct requests to the S3 endpoint. On the AWS Certified Developer Associate DVA-C02 exam, this scenario tests your understanding of securing content delivery; a common trap is assuming bucket policies alone suffice or confusing OAI with signed URLs. Remember, the OAI acts as a gatekeeper—CloudFront is the only entity with the key. Memory tip: OAI = "Only Access Identity"—think of it as a bouncer that lets CloudFront in but turns away everyone else.
DVA-C02 Security Practice Question
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 using CloudFront to serve content from an S3 bucket. The bucket contains sensitive data and should only be accessible through CloudFront. How can the developer enforce this?
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Create an origin access identity (OAI) and grant it read access in the bucket policy.
Option D is correct because an Origin Access Identity (OAI) is a special CloudFront user that you can associate with your distribution. By configuring the S3 bucket policy to grant read access only to that OAI, you ensure that content can only be retrieved via CloudFront, not directly from the S3 endpoint. This enforces the requirement that the bucket is accessible exclusively through CloudFront.
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.
✗
Set the bucket policy to allow access only from CloudFront IP addresses.
Set the bucket policy to allow access only from AWS services.
Why it's wrong here
Not specific to CloudFront.
✗
Set the bucket policy to allow public read access and use CloudFront signed URLs.
Why it's wrong here
Public access is not secure.
✓
Create an origin access identity (OAI) and grant it read access in the bucket policy.
Why this is correct
Best practice for private content.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is that candidates often assume restricting by CloudFront IP addresses (Option A) is a valid approach, but AWS explicitly warns that CloudFront IP ranges are not static and should not be used for access control in bucket policies.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
Under the hood, the OAI is a special CloudFront user (e.g., origin-access-identity/cloudfront/ABCDEF123456) that CloudFront uses to authenticate to S3. When CloudFront fetches content from the origin, it presents the OAI's credentials; the bucket policy must explicitly grant the s3:GetObject action to that OAI's ARN. This mechanism works because S3 evaluates the bucket policy before serving the request, and without the OAI's permission, direct S3 requests (even with valid AWS credentials) are denied. In real-world scenarios, this is commonly used with private content distribution, such as streaming video or secure software downloads, where you want to leverage CloudFront's edge caching and DDoS protection while keeping the origin locked down.
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: Create an origin access identity (OAI) and grant it read access in the bucket policy. — Option D is correct because an Origin Access Identity (OAI) is a special CloudFront user that you can associate with your distribution. By configuring the S3 bucket policy to grant read access only to that OAI, you ensure that content can only be retrieved via CloudFront, not directly from the S3 endpoint. This enforces the requirement that the bucket is accessible exclusively through CloudFront.
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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