ANS-C01 Network Security, Compliance and Governance Practice Question
A company has a Direct Connect connection to AWS. They want to encrypt all traffic between their on-premises network and their VPC. Which solution meets this requirement?
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
✓
Set up a VPN connection over the Direct Connect link using IPsec.
Direct Connect does not inherently encrypt traffic. To encrypt all traffic between on-premises and the VPC, you can establish an IPsec VPN tunnel over the Direct Connect link. This encrypts traffic at the network layer. Option A is incorrect: MACsec provides physical-layer encryption but is not supported on all Direct Connect connections and does not encrypt all traffic end-to-end. Option C is incorrect: Direct Connect virtual interfaces do not provide encryption. Option D is incorrect: TLS is an application-layer protocol; it would require individual applications to support it and does not encrypt all traffic at the network layer.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Use MACsec on the Direct Connect connection.
Why it's wrong here
MACsec provides encryption at Layer 2 but is not supported on all Direct Connect connections and requires compatible hardware.
- ✓
Set up a VPN connection over the Direct Connect link using IPsec.
Why this is correct
IPsec VPN over Direct Connect encrypts all traffic between the customer gateway and the VPC.
- ✗
Enable encryption on the Direct Connect virtual interface.
Why it's wrong here
Direct Connect does not support native encryption; it is a physical connection.
- ✗
Use TLS for all traffic between on-premises and AWS.
Why it's wrong here
TLS only encrypts specific application protocols, not all IP traffic.
Quick reference
VPN Protocol Comparison
| Protocol | Port | Encryption | Authentication | Use Case |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| IKEv2 / IPsec | UDP 500 / 4500 | AES-256 | Certificates / PSK | Site-to-site & remote access |
| SSL / TLS VPN | TCP 443 | TLS 1.3 | Certificates / MFA | Clientless remote access |
| L2TP / IPsec | UDP 1701 | AES (IPsec) | PSK / Certificates | Legacy remote access |
| WireGuard | UDP 51820 | ChaCha20 | Public keys | Modern high-performance VPN |
| PPTP | TCP 1723 | MPPE (weak) | MS-CHAPv2 | Legacy — avoid in production |
PPTP is considered insecure. IKEv2/IPsec and SSL VPN are the current recommended options.
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JA
Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
This ANS-C01 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 ANS-C01 exam.