DOP-C02 Resilient Cloud Solutions Practice Question
Exhibit
Refer to the exhibit.
```
{
"Version": "2012-10-17",
"Statement": [
{
"Effect": "Allow",
"Action": "s3:PutObject",
"Resource": "arn:aws:s3:::my-bucket/*",
"Condition": {
"StringEquals": {
"s3:x-amz-server-side-encryption": "AES256"
}
}
},
{
"Effect": "Deny",
"Action": "s3:PutObject",
"Resource": "arn:aws:s3:::my-bucket/*",
"Condition": {
"StringNotEquals": {
"s3:x-amz-server-side-encryption": "AES256"
}
}
}
]
}
```A DevOps engineer applies this S3 bucket policy to an S3 bucket. What is the effect of this policy?
⚠ Common exam trap
A common mix-up: candidates confuse the `x-amz-server-side-encryption` header values: `AES256` is specific to SSE-S3, not SSE-C or SSE-KMS, leading to incorrect selections of A or D.
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
✓
All objects uploaded must use server-side encryption with Amazon S3 managed keys (SSE-S3).
The S3 bucket policy in question denies uploads unless the `x-amz-server-side-encryption` header is set to `AES256`, which is the value for SSE-S3 (Amazon S3 managed keys). This ensures that all objects uploaded to the bucket must be encrypted using server-side encryption with S3-managed keys (SSE-S3). Option C correctly identifies this requirement.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
All objects uploaded must be encrypted with SSE-C.
Why it's wrong here
The condition uses s3:x-amz-server-side-encryption, which must equal AES256. SSE-C does not set that header; it uses s3:x-amz-server-side-encryption-customer-algorithm with a customer-provided key, so uploads encrypted with SSE-C would fail this condition and be denied. The policy therefore explicitly excludes SSE-C rather than requiring it.
- ✗
All uploads to the bucket are blocked.
Why it's wrong here
This policy contains an Allow statement for s3:PutObject that is conditioned on the s3:x-amz-server-side-encryption header being AES256. Any upload that carries that header value is permitted, so the bucket is not fully blocked. Uploads without the header or with a different encryption value are denied, but valid SSE-S3 uploads succeed, making this statement false.
- ✓
All objects uploaded must use server-side encryption with Amazon S3 managed keys (SSE-S3).
Why this is correct
The policy grants s3:PutObject only when the s3:x-amz-server-side-encryption request header is exactly AES256. In S3, that header value maps to SSE-S3, where Amazon S3 manages the encryption keys using AES-256. Consequently, any object uploaded must be encrypted with SSE-S3, and uploads using no encryption or any other encryption method are denied.
- ✗
All objects uploaded must be encrypted with SSE-KMS.
Why it's wrong here
SSE-KMS requires the s3:x-amz-server-side-encryption header to be aws:kms, not AES256. Because this policy mandates AES256, a PutObject that attempts to use aws:kms encryption will not satisfy the condition and will be denied. Thus the bucket does not require KMS keys; it requires SSE-S3.
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
This DOP-C02 question is part of Courseiva's 1,298-question bank — original exam-style content with full explanations and wrong-answer analysis, never real exam questions or exam 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 DOP-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 DOP-C02 exam.