SAP-C02 Practice Question: Design Solutions for Organizational Complexity
Which TWO actions improve the security of an S3 bucket that stores sensitive data?
⚠ Common exam trap
Watch out — candidates often confuse performance or cost features (Transfer Acceleration, Glacier lifecycle, S3 Select) with security controls, leading them to select options that do not actually protect data confidentiality or integrity.
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
✓
Enable default encryption with SSE-S3 or SSE-KMS.
Option A is correct because enabling default encryption with SSE-S3 or SSE-KMS ensures that all objects written to the bucket are encrypted at rest automatically, protecting sensitive data even if individual PUT requests omit encryption headers. Option B is correct because the S3 Block Public Access feature overrides bucket policies and ACLs to prevent any public exposure of the bucket or its objects, which is a critical safeguard for sensitive data. Option C is not a security control; S3 Transfer Acceleration only speeds up uploads and downloads via AWS edge locations. Option D addresses cost and storage-class optimization, not security, since Glacier transition does not itself restrict access. Option E is a query capability for filtering object data with SQL, not a security mechanism.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✓
Enable default encryption with SSE-S3 or SSE-KMS.
Why this is correct
SSE-S3 or SSE-KMS encrypts objects at rest, so data written to the bucket is unreadable without the corresponding key. This directly satisfies the sensitive-data protection requirement, mitigating exposure if storage media or snapshots are compromised.
- ✓
Block all public access using the S3 Block Public Access feature.
Why this is correct
S3 Block Public Access overrides bucket policies and ACLs that would otherwise grant anonymous or public access, closing accidental exposure paths. It satisfies the sensitive-data constraint by preventing any public read or write regardless of individual object permissions.
- ✗
Enable S3 Transfer Acceleration.
Why it's wrong here
Transfer Acceleration speeds uploads and downloads through edge locations; it adds no authorisation, encryption or monitoring control over the sensitive objects. It tempts because it is a legitimate S3 feature, correct when the requirement is improving throughput for geographically distant clients.
- ✗
Configure a lifecycle policy to transition objects to Glacier.
Why it's wrong here
Lifecycle transitions to Glacier change storage class and cost, not access control, encryption or logging, so sensitive objects remain equally exposed. It tempts because lifecycle policies are a genuine S3 management feature, correct when the goal is archival or cost reduction rather than security hardening.
- ✗
Enable S3 Select to filter data.
Why it's wrong here
S3 Select filters object contents during retrieval; it neither restricts who may read objects nor encrypts them, so it leaves the bucket's exposure unchanged. It tempts because it is a real S3 capability, appropriate when the requirement is reducing data transferred for analytics queries.
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
Related to this question
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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.