SAP-C02 Design for New Solutions Practice Question
A company is designing a new system that will use Amazon S3 to store sensitive data. Which THREE methods can be used to encrypt data at rest in S3?
⚠ Common exam trap
Many exam-takers confuse client-side encryption (which happens before data reaches S3) with server-side encryption at rest, or incorrectly assume that IAM provides encryption capabilities when it only controls access permissions.
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-C
SSE-C (Server-Side Encryption with Customer-Provided Keys) is correct because it allows you to encrypt data at rest in S3 using your own encryption keys, which you manage outside of AWS. You provide the encryption key as part of your PUT request, and S3 uses it to encrypt the object before writing it to disk, then discards the key from memory. This method gives you full control over the key lifecycle while still leveraging S3's server-side encryption infrastructure.
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 this is correct
Server-side encryption with customer-provided keys.
- ✗
Client-side encryption
Why it's wrong here
Not a built-in S3 encryption method; done on client side.
- ✓
SSE-S3
Why this is correct
Server-side encryption with S3-managed keys.
- ✓
SSE-KMS
Why this is correct
Server-side encryption with KMS-managed keys.
- ✗
AWS IAM
Why it's wrong here
IAM is for access control, not encryption.
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 |
Go deeper
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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.