- A
Use AWS Lake Formation to define column-level permissions and masking policies.
Lake Formation provides fine-grained access control without data duplication.
- B
Create separate S3 buckets for each masking policy and copy data accordingly.
Why wrong: Storage costs would multiply.
- C
Use AWS Glue ETL jobs to mask data based on user role at query time.
Why wrong: ETL is batch, not real-time per user.
- D
Store masked data in separate prefixes in the same bucket and use S3 bucket policies.
Why wrong: Bucket policies are not row/column-level.
Question 1,121 of 1,746
SAP-C02 Design for New Solutions Practice Question
This SAP-C02 practice question tests your understanding of design for new solutions. Match the stated requirement to the specific cloud service, access model, or configuration option — many options are valid in isolation but not for this scenario. After answering, compare your reasoning against the explanation and wrong-answer breakdown below. Once you have made your selection, read the full explanation to reinforce the concept and understand why each distractor is designed to mislead on exam day.
A company is designing a new data lake on Amazon S3 using AWS Glue for ETL. The data is partitioned by date and sensitive columns must be masked for non-privileged users. The solution must minimize storage costs and allow different masking policies per user. Which approach should the architect recommend?
Clue words in this question
Noticing these words before you look at the options changes how you read each choice.
Clue:
"minimum / minimize"Why it matters: Asks for the least resource use — fewest addresses, smallest subnet, lowest overhead. Eliminate over-provisioned options even if they would technically work.
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 Lake Formation to define column-level permissions and masking policies.
AWS Lake Formation provides native column-level security and dynamic masking policies that can be applied per user or role without duplicating data. This approach minimizes storage costs because the data remains in a single location, and masking is applied at query time based on the requesting principal's permissions, satisfying the requirement for different masking policies per user.
Key principle: Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
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 AWS Lake Formation to define column-level permissions and masking policies.
Why this is correct
Lake Formation provides fine-grained access control without data duplication.
Clue confirmation
The clue word "minimum / minimize" in the question point toward this answer.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
- ✗
Create separate S3 buckets for each masking policy and copy data accordingly.
Why it's wrong here
Storage costs would multiply.
- ✗
Use AWS Glue ETL jobs to mask data based on user role at query time.
Why it's wrong here
ETL is batch, not real-time per user.
- ✗
Store masked data in separate prefixes in the same bucket and use S3 bucket policies.
Why it's wrong here
Bucket policies are not row/column-level.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is that candidates often confuse S3 bucket policies or Glue ETL jobs with the ability to perform dynamic, per-user column masking at query time, when in fact only Lake Formation provides this capability without data duplication or batch processing.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
Lake Formation implements column-level security by intercepting queries through integrated engines like Amazon Athena, Amazon Redshift Spectrum, or AWS Glue ETL. It uses a centralized catalog with fine-grained permissions that are evaluated at query runtime, allowing different users to see different masked values from the same underlying S3 data without any data duplication or pre-processing.
KKey Concepts to Remember
- Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
- Find the constraint that changes the correct option.
- Eliminate answers that are true in general but not in this case.
TExam Day Tips
- Watch for words such as best, first, most likely and least administrative effort.
- Review why wrong options are wrong, not only why the correct option is correct.
Key takeaway
Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Real-world example
How this comes up in practice
A startup's cloud architect reviews their monthly bill and notices costs are higher than expected for a long-running batch job. Switching from on-demand instances to Reserved Instances — or using Spot/Preemptible VMs — can reduce compute costs by up to 72 %. Questions like this test whether you understand the tradeoffs between commitment, flexibility, and cost across cloud pricing models.
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 |
What to study next
Got this wrong? Here's your next step.
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
- →
Design for New Solutions — study guide chapter
Learn the concepts, then practise the questions
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FAQ
Questions learners often ask
What does this SAP-C02 question test?
Design for New Solutions — This question tests Design for New Solutions — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Use AWS Lake Formation to define column-level permissions and masking policies. — AWS Lake Formation provides native column-level security and dynamic masking policies that can be applied per user or role without duplicating data. This approach minimizes storage costs because the data remains in a single location, and masking is applied at query time based on the requesting principal's permissions, satisfying the requirement for different masking policies per user.
What should I do if I get this SAP-C02 question wrong?
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
Are there clue words in this question I should notice?
Yes — watch for: "minimum / minimize". Asks for the least resource use — fewest addresses, smallest subnet, lowest overhead. Eliminate over-provisioned options even if they would technically work.
What is the key concept behind this question?
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
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Last reviewed: Jul 4, 2026
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