The correct steps are to grant SageMaker permissions to use the customer-managed KMS key and then specify the CMK’s ARN in the VolumeKmsKeyId parameter when creating the training job. This is necessary because SageMaker training jobs provision encrypted Amazon Elastic Block Store (EBS) volumes for temporary storage, and by default these are encrypted with an AWS-managed key; to enforce a customer-managed key, you must both authorize SageMaker to decrypt and use the CMK via an IAM policy or key policy, and explicitly pass the key’s ARN in the VolumeKmsKeyId field of the AlgorithmSpecification or ResourceConfig. On the AWS Certified Machine Learning Engineer Associate MLA-C01 exam, this scenario tests your understanding that SageMaker’s internal storage encryption is separate from S3 bucket encryption—a common trap is confusing S3 default encryption with SageMaker’s volume encryption. Remember the mnemonic: “Grant and ARN—two steps to keep your training data from harm.”
MLA-C01 Practice Question: ML Solution Monitoring, Maintenance and Security
This MLA-C01 practice question tests your understanding of ml solution monitoring, maintenance and 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 financial services company must ensure that all data used by Amazon SageMaker training jobs is encrypted at rest. The company wants to use a customer-managed key (CMK) for the encryption. Which steps are necessary to achieve this? (Choose TWO.)
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Create a CMK in AWS KMS and add the SageMaker service principal to the key policy to allow it to use the key.
Options A and C are correct. A: Grant SageMaker permissions to use the CMK. C: Specify the CMK in the KmsKeyId parameter of the training job. Option B is wrong because adding to S3 encryption is for S3, not SageMaker. Option D is wrong because enabling S3 default encryption does not cover SageMaker's internal storage. Option E is wrong because SageMaker encrypts at rest by default with AWS-managed keys, but for CMK you specify it.
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.
✗
Enable SageMaker's default encryption for the training job by setting the EnableDefaultEncryption flag.
Why it's wrong here
No such flag; default encryption uses AWS-managed keys.
✓
Create a CMK in AWS KMS and add the SageMaker service principal to the key policy to allow it to use the key.
Why this is correct
SageMaker needs permission to use the CMK.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
✗
Enable S3 default encryption using the CMK on all buckets containing training data.
Why it's wrong here
This encrypts data at rest in S3, but not SageMaker's own storage volumes.
✓
Specify the CMK's ARN in the VolumeKmsKeyId parameter when creating the training job.
Why this is correct
This encrypts the ML storage volume attached to the training instances.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
✗
Use CloudWatch Logs encryption to protect the training logs.
Why it's wrong here
Logs are not training data.
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 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 MLA-C01 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.
ML Solution Monitoring, Maintenance and Security — This question tests ML Solution Monitoring, Maintenance and Security — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Create a CMK in AWS KMS and add the SageMaker service principal to the key policy to allow it to use the key. — Options A and C are correct. A: Grant SageMaker permissions to use the CMK. C: Specify the CMK in the KmsKeyId parameter of the training job. Option B is wrong because adding to S3 encryption is for S3, not SageMaker. Option D is wrong because enabling S3 default encryption does not cover SageMaker's internal storage. Option E is wrong because SageMaker encrypts at rest by default with AWS-managed keys, but for CMK you specify it.
What should I do if I get this MLA-C01 question wrong?
Identify which MLA-C01 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.
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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