PAS-C01 Technology Practice Question
A company runs SAP on AWS and uses AWS KMS for encryption of EBS volumes. The security team requires that the EBS volumes used for SAP HANA data and log files be encrypted with a customer-managed key. They also want to ensure that the key cannot be deleted. What should the security team do to protect the KMS key?
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
✓
Set a key policy that prevents the kms:ScheduleKeyDeletion action.
Setting a key policy that denies the kms:ScheduleKeyDeletion action prevents the key from being deleted. This ensures that the customer-managed key used for EBS volume encryption cannot be scheduled for deletion, meeting the security requirement. Option B is incorrect because AWS managed keys cannot have custom key policies and are managed by AWS, which does not meet the requirement for a customer-managed key. Option C is incorrect because storing the key in Secrets Manager is not for deletion prevention; Secrets Manager is for secure storage of secrets, not for KMS key deletion protection. Option D is incorrect because automatic key rotation creates new cryptographic material but does not prevent key deletion; it is a security best practice for key freshness, not for deletion prevention.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✓
Set a key policy that prevents the kms:ScheduleKeyDeletion action.
Why this is correct
A key policy can explicitly deny the deletion action.
- ✗
Use an AWS managed key instead of a customer-managed key.
Why it's wrong here
AWS managed keys cannot be deleted but also cannot be customized.
- ✗
Store the key in AWS Secrets Manager.
Why it's wrong here
Secrets Manager is for secrets, not for protecting keys from deletion.
- ✗
Enable automatic key rotation.
Why it's wrong here
Key rotation does not prevent 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 |
Go deeper
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JA
Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
This PAS-C01 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 PAS-C01 exam.