ANS-C01 Network Security, Compliance and Governance Practice Question
A company is using AWS Secrets Manager to store database credentials. They want to ensure that the credentials are automatically rotated every 30 days. Which configuration 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
✓
Enable automatic rotation in the secret configuration and provide a Lambda rotation function.
AWS Secrets Manager provides built-in automatic rotation using a Lambda function. Option B is incorrect because AWS Systems Manager Parameter Store does not support automatic rotation of secrets; it is designed for configuration management. Option C is incorrect because AWS CloudHSM is a hardware security module for storing cryptographic keys, not for automating credential rotation. Option D is incorrect because IAM Access Analyzer analyzes resource policies to identify unintended access, not to rotate credentials.
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 automatic rotation in the secret configuration and provide a Lambda rotation function.
Why this is correct
Secrets Manager supports automatic rotation using Lambda functions.
- ✗
Store the secret in AWS Systems Manager Parameter Store and configure a rotation schedule.
Why it's wrong here
Parameter Store does not have a built-in rotation feature.
- ✗
Store the secret in AWS CloudHSM and use a scheduled Lambda to rotate.
Why it's wrong here
CloudHSM is a hardware security module, not a secret store with rotation.
- ✗
Use IAM Access Analyzer to rotate the credentials periodically.
Why it's wrong here
IAM Access Analyzer analyzes resource policies, it does not rotate secrets.
Quick reference
Cloud Service Model Comparison
| Model | You Manage | Provider Manages | Examples |
|---|---|---|---|
| IaaS | OS, runtime, apps, data | Hardware, hypervisor, networking | EC2, Azure VMs, GCP Compute Engine |
| PaaS | Apps and data | OS, runtime, middleware, hardware | Elastic Beanstalk, Azure App Service |
| SaaS | Data and settings only | Everything else | Microsoft 365, Salesforce, Workday |
| FaaS / Serverless | Function code only | Infra, scaling, runtime | Lambda, Azure Functions, Cloud Run |
| CaaS | Containers and apps | Kubernetes, OS, hardware | EKS, AKS, GKE |
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Variation 1. A company wants to securely store and manage secrets such as database passwords and API keys. They need to automatically rotate secrets every 30 days and ensure that only specific IAM roles can access them. Which AWS service should they use?
easy- A.AWS Systems Manager Parameter Store
- B.AWS Key Management Service (KMS)
- ✓ C.AWS Secrets Manager
- D.AWS CloudHSM
Why C: AWS Secrets Manager is the correct choice because it is purpose-built for securely storing, managing, and automatically rotating secrets such as database passwords and API keys. It supports native rotation with AWS Lambda, enforces fine-grained access control via IAM roles, and can rotate secrets on a schedule (e.g., every 30 days) without custom scripting.
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.