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Question 957 of 1,750

Incident and Event Response →hardMultiple ChoiceObjective-mapped

DOP-C02 Incident and Event Response Practice Question

This DOP-C02 practice question tests your understanding of incident and event response. 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.

A company uses Amazon CloudWatch Logs to collect application logs from EC2 instances. The security team requires that log data be encrypted at rest using a customer-managed AWS KMS key. The logs are currently being delivered, but they are not encrypted. What is the most likely reason?

Clue words in this question

Noticing these words before you look at the options changes how you read each choice.

Clue: "most likely"
Why it matters: Probability qualifier — the question wants the most probable cause or outcome, not a guaranteed one. Eliminate low-probability options.

A
The IAM role for the EC2 instance does not have kms:Encrypt permission
Why wrong: The IAM role for the EC2 instance does not need kms:Encrypt permission for CloudWatch Logs server-side encryption. The encryption is handled by the CloudWatch Logs service using the KMS key policy.
B
The CloudWatch Logs agent is not configured to encrypt logs
Why wrong: Encryption is configured at the log group level, not in the CloudWatch Logs agent, so this is not the cause.
C
The KMS key is disabled
Why wrong: If the KMS key were disabled, log delivery would fail entirely, not just be unencrypted.
D
The KMS key policy does not allow the CloudWatch Logs service principal
Correct. The key policy must allow the CloudWatch Logs service principal to use the key for encryption. A missing or incorrect key policy is the most likely reason logs are delivered but not encrypted.

Full breakdown with real-world context →

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

✓

The KMS key policy does not allow the CloudWatch Logs service principal

The correct answer is D. For CloudWatch Logs to encrypt log data at rest with a customer-managed KMS key, the key policy must grant the CloudWatch Logs service principal the necessary permissions (kms:Encrypt, kms:Decrypt, etc.). If the key policy does not include this, CloudWatch Logs can still ingest the logs but cannot encrypt them, resulting in unencrypted logs. Option A is incorrect: the IAM role for the EC2 instance does not need kms:Encrypt permissions for server-side encryption; that is handled by the CloudWatch Logs service using the key policy. Option B is incorrect because encryption is configured at the log group level, not in the agent. Option C would cause delivery failures, not just lack of encryption.

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 IAM role for the EC2 instance does not have kms:Encrypt permission
Why it's wrong here
The IAM role for the EC2 instance does not need kms:Encrypt permission for CloudWatch Logs server-side encryption. The encryption is handled by the CloudWatch Logs service using the KMS key policy.
✗
The CloudWatch Logs agent is not configured to encrypt logs
Why it's wrong here
Encryption is configured at the log group level, not in the CloudWatch Logs agent, so this is not the cause.
✗
The KMS key is disabled
Why it's wrong here
If the KMS key were disabled, log delivery would fail entirely, not just be unencrypted.
✓
The KMS key policy does not allow the CloudWatch Logs service principal
Why this is correct
Correct. The key policy must allow the CloudWatch Logs service principal to use the key for encryption. A missing or incorrect key policy is the most likely reason logs are delivered but not encrypted.
Clue confirmation
The clue word "most likely" in the question point toward this answer.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.

Common exam traps

Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword

Many certification questions include familiar terms but test a specific constraint. Read the exact wording before choosing an answer that is generally true but wrong for this case.

Detailed technical explanation

How to think about this question

This question should be treated as a scenario, not a definition check. Identify the problem, the constraint and the best action. Then compare each option against those facts.

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.
Use explanations to understand the rule behind the answer.

TExam Day Tips

Underline the problem statement mentally.
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 company's IT admin needs to give a contractor read-only access to production logs without sharing account credentials. Using role-based access control (RBAC) and temporary scoped permissions — not a permanent shared password — is the correct pattern. Questions like this test whether you can apply least-privilege access across cloud identity services.

What to study next

Got this wrong? Here's your next step.

Identify which DOP-C02 exam domain this question belongs to, then review the specific concept being tested. Practise related questions in that domain and focus on understanding why each wrong answer is tempting — not just why the correct answer is right.

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FAQ

Questions learners often ask

What does this DOP-C02 question test?

Incident and Event Response — This question tests Incident and Event Response — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..

What is the correct answer to this question?

The correct answer is: The KMS key policy does not allow the CloudWatch Logs service principal — The correct answer is D. For CloudWatch Logs to encrypt log data at rest with a customer-managed KMS key, the key policy must grant the CloudWatch Logs service principal the necessary permissions (kms:Encrypt, kms:Decrypt, etc.). If the key policy does not include this, CloudWatch Logs can still ingest the logs but cannot encrypt them, resulting in unencrypted logs. Option A is incorrect: the IAM role for the EC2 instance does not need kms:Encrypt permissions for server-side encryption; that is handled by the CloudWatch Logs service using the key policy. Option B is incorrect because encryption is configured at the log group level, not in the agent. Option C would cause delivery failures, not just lack of encryption.

What should I do if I get this DOP-C02 question wrong?

Are there clue words in this question I should notice?

Yes — watch for: "most likely". Probability qualifier — the question wants the most probable cause or outcome, not a guaranteed one. Eliminate low-probability options.

What is the key concept behind this question?

Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.

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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.