ANS-C01 Network Security, Compliance and Governance Practice Question
A security engineer is designing a hybrid network with an AWS Site-to-Site VPN. The company requires that all traffic between the on-premises network and VPC be encrypted in transit. Which configuration ensures this requirement is met?
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 AWS Site-to-Site VPN with IPsec tunnels
AWS Site-to-Site VPN inherently uses IPsec tunnels to encrypt all traffic. Option A is wrong because VPC peering does not provide encryption; it uses the AWS network without encryption. Option B is wrong because Direct Connect does not encrypt by default; MACsec is an optional encryption layer but not the standard Site-to-Site VPN. Option C is wrong because Transit Gateway itself is a network transit hub and does not provide encryption; it can route encrypted VPN traffic but does not encrypt.
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 VPC peering instead of VPN
Why it's wrong here
VPC peering does not encrypt traffic.
- ✗
Use AWS Direct Connect with MACsec
Why it's wrong here
MACsec on AWS Direct Connect provides link-layer encryption but only between the on-premises router and the Direct Connect location, not end-to-end across the entire VPC path; the requirement for all traffic between on-premises and VPC to be encrypted in transit is unmet because the VPC-side traffic remains unencrypted beyond the Direct Connect termination. This option tempts because MACsec offers strong encryption for dedicated connections, and would be correct if the requirement were limited to encrypting the physical link segment only, rather than the full network path.
- ✗
Deploy a Transit Gateway with route tables
Why it's wrong here
Transit Gateway does not encrypt traffic; it routes it.
- ✓
Use AWS Site-to-Site VPN with IPsec tunnels
Why this is correct
Site-to-Site VPN encrypts all traffic via IPsec.
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.
Go deeper
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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.