SAA-C03 Design Resilient Architectures Practice Question
A security team is concerned about accidental or malicious deletion of critical objects in an Amazon S3 bucket. Which TWO features should be enabled to prevent permanent data loss and require additional authentication for deletions?
⚠ Common exam trap
SAA-C03 often tests the confusion between Object Lock (immutability/retention) and MFA Delete (authentication for deletion) — candidates who pick Object Lock miss that the question explicitly asks for additional authentication.
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
✓
S3 Versioning.
S3 Versioning (A) is correct because it keeps multiple variants of an object in the same bucket, so when an object is overwritten or deleted, a delete marker is placed and the prior version remains recoverable, preventing permanent data loss from accidental or malicious deletion. MFA Delete (B) is correct because it adds an additional authentication factor requirement for permanently deleting object versions or changing the versioning state of the bucket, directly satisfying the requirement for extra authentication on deletions. Together, versioning preserves the data and MFA Delete protects the destructive operations. S3 Object Lock in compliance mode (C) is not among the marked answers and, while it prevents deletion for a retention period, it does not itself require additional authentication for deletions. S3 Inventory (D) only provides scheduled reports of objects and metadata, and S3 Transfer Acceleration (E) only speeds up uploads/downloads via edge locations; neither prevents permanent deletion or adds authentication.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✓
S3 Versioning.
Why this is correct
Enabling S3 Versioning ensures that whenever an object is deleted, S3 inserts a delete marker instead of permanently removing the data. This allows administrators to easily restore previous versions of the object. It protects against accidental overwrites and provides a history of changes, which is essential for data durability and recovery.
- ✓
MFA Delete.
Why this is correct
MFA Delete provides an additional security layer by requiring the bucket owner to include a code from a hardware or software MFA device in any request to permanently delete a version. Even if an attacker gains access to an IAM user's credentials, they cannot permanently destroy data without physical access to the MFA device.
- ✗
S3 Object Lock in compliance mode.
Why it's wrong here
S3 Object Lock can prevent objects from being deleted for a fixed amount of time. While it is very effective for compliance, it might be too restrictive for all use cases and doesn't inherently provide the multi-factor authentication check requested. It is often used for WORM (Write Once Read Many) requirements rather than general deletion protection.
- ✗
S3 Inventory.
Why it's wrong here
S3 Inventory provides a report of your objects and their metadata on a scheduled basis. While it helps in auditing and managing storage, it does not prevent the deletion of objects or provide a mechanism for recovery. It is a reporting tool used to analyze storage trends and verify object encryption or replication status.
- ✗
S3 Transfer Acceleration.
Why it's wrong here
S3 Transfer Acceleration uses Amazon CloudFront's globally distributed edge locations to speed up data uploads to S3 buckets. It is a performance optimization feature and has no impact on the security or resilience of the data once it is stored. It does not provide any protection against accidental or malicious deletion.
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 |
About these practice questions
This SAA-C03 question is part of Courseiva's 149-question bank — original exam-style content with full explanations and wrong-answer analysis, never real exam questions or exam dumps. Learn why practice questions differ from exam dumps →
JA
Written and reviewed by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
Last reviewed September 2026 · checked against the official Amazon Web Services exam blueprint
This SAA-C03 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 SAA-C03 exam.