ANS-C01 Network Security, Compliance and Governance Practice Question
A company is using AWS Direct Connect to connect its on-premises network to AWS. The company wants to encrypt all traffic between its on-premises network and AWS. Which solution meets this requirement?
⚠ Common exam trap
Watch out — candidates often assume Direct Connect inherently encrypts traffic because it is a private connection, but AWS explicitly states that Direct Connect does not provide encryption, so an overlay like IPsec is required.
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
✓
Use a private VIF and establish an IPsec VPN tunnel over the Direct Connect connection.
AWS Direct Connect does not natively encrypt traffic; it provides a private, dedicated network connection. To meet the encryption requirement, you can establish an IPsec VPN tunnel over the private VIF, which encrypts all traffic between the on-premises network and the VPC. This approach combines the low latency and reliability of Direct Connect with the security of IPsec encryption.
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 a public virtual interface (VIF) and route traffic through a NAT gateway.
Why it's wrong here
Public VIF does not encrypt traffic.
- ✓
Use a private VIF and establish an IPsec VPN tunnel over the Direct Connect connection.
Why this is correct
IPsec provides encryption over the Direct Connect link.
- ✗
Use a private virtual interface (VIF) and enable encryption on the Direct Connect connection.
Why it's wrong here
Direct Connect does not provide encryption inherently.
- ✗
Use a private VIF and enable TLS on all applications.
Why it's wrong here
TLS is application-layer, not network-layer encryption.
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.