hardMultiple ChoiceObjective-mapped
MLA-C01 Practice Question: A team is deploying a real-time inference…
A team is deploying a real-time inference endpoint in SageMaker. The model requires access to an S3 bucket containing customer data, which is encrypted with SSE-KMS. The team needs to ensure that the endpoint can decrypt the data. Which IAM role configuration is necessary?
⚠ Common exam trap
Many exam-takers confuse the permissions needed for encryption (kms:GenerateDataKey) with those needed for decryption (kms:Decrypt), or incorrectly think that S3 bucket policies can grant permissions to KMS keys.
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
✓
Add kms:Decrypt permission to the SageMaker execution role for the specific KMS key.
The SageMaker execution role must have the kms:Decrypt permission for the specific KMS key that encrypted the S3 objects. When the endpoint reads data from the S3 bucket, SageMaker uses its execution role to call KMS to decrypt the data. Without this permission, the endpoint will fail with an access denied error, even if the S3 bucket policy allows s3:GetObject.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Add kms:GenerateDataKey permission to the SageMaker execution role.
Why it's wrong here
Data key generation is for encryption, not decryption; Decrypt is needed.
- ✗
Attach a policy to the S3 bucket granting s3:GetObject to the KMS key.
Why it's wrong here
S3 bucket policy cannot grant KMS permissions; the role needs KMS actions.
- ✓
Add kms:Decrypt permission to the SageMaker execution role for the specific KMS key.
Why this is correct
The execution role must be allowed to decrypt using the customer-managed key.
- ✗
Configure the endpoint to assume the S3 bucket's IAM role.
Why it's wrong here
S3 does not have an IAM role assumed by other services; the role must be attached to SageMaker.
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
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Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
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