SAP-C02 Design for New Solutions Practice Question
A company is designing a new application that must meet PCI DSS compliance requirements. The application will process credit card transactions and store encrypted data. Which AWS service should be used to manage the encryption keys?
⚠ Common exam trap
Many candidates confuse AWS KMS with CloudHSM because both manage encryption keys, but the exam specifically tests the PCI DSS requirement for FIPS 140-2 Level 3 validation and sole customer control of the HSM, which only CloudHSM provides.
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
✓
AWS CloudHSM
AWS CloudHSM is the correct choice because PCI DSS requires that encryption keys used to protect cardholder data be stored in a hardware security module (HSM) that is FIPS 140-2 Level 3 validated, and that the customer retains sole control over the keys. CloudHSM provides dedicated, single-tenant HSM appliances that you manage directly, ensuring you meet the key management and physical security requirements of PCI DSS without sharing the HSM with other AWS customers.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✓
AWS CloudHSM
Why this is correct
Dedicated HSM for compliance with PCI DSS.
- ✗
AWS Key Management Service (KMS)
Why it's wrong here
KMS is a managed service but does not provide dedicated HSM.
- ✗
AWS Secrets Manager
Why it's wrong here
For managing secrets, not encryption keys.
- ✗
Amazon S3 server-side encryption (SSE-S3)
Why it's wrong here
For S3 object encryption, not key management.
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JA
Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
This SAP-C02 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 SAP-C02 exam.