ANS-C01 Network Security, Compliance and Governance Practice Question
A company wants to encrypt data at rest in Amazon S3 using server-side encryption. They require that the encryption keys are managed by AWS and rotated automatically. Which encryption option should they choose?
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
✓
SSE-S3
SSE-S3 (Option C) is the correct choice because it uses server-side encryption with Amazon S3-managed keys that are automatically rotated. SSE-C (Option A) requires the customer to provide and manage their own encryption keys. SSE-KMS (Option D) uses AWS Key Management Service (KMS) keys, which are managed by AWS but do not automatically rotate unless you enable automatic key rotation. Client-side encryption (Option B) is not a form of server-side encryption, as the data is encrypted before being sent to S3.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
SSE-C
Why it's wrong here
SSE-C requires customer to provide and manage keys.
- ✗
Client-side encryption
Why it's wrong here
Client-side encryption is not server-side.
- ✓
SSE-S3
Why this is correct
SSE-S3 uses Amazon S3-managed keys with automatic rotation.
- ✗
SSE-KMS
Why it's wrong here
SSE-KMS uses AWS KMS, rotation is configurable but not automatic by default.
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 |
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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.