PAS-C01 Design of SAP Workloads on AWS Practice Question
An administrator needs to back up SAP HANA database to S3 with encryption. The backup must be encrypted at rest in S3. Which combination of actions should be taken?
⚠ Common exam trap
Many candidates confuse S3 Versioning (which protects against accidental deletion) with encryption, or assume that AWS Backup automatically enforces encryption without explicitly configuring bucket default encryption.
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
✓
Configure S3 bucket with default encryption using SSE-S3 or SSE-KMS
Configuring an S3 bucket with default encryption using SSE-S3 or SSE-KMS ensures that backups written to S3 are automatically encrypted at rest. SSE-S3 uses Amazon-managed keys with AES-256, while SSE-KMS allows you to use AWS KMS customer managed keys (CMKs) for additional control. This meets the requirement for encryption at rest in S3 without requiring additional infrastructure or manual key management.
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 CloudHSM to generate keys and store them in S3
Why it's wrong here
CloudHSM is for key management, not directly for S3 encryption.
- ✗
Enable S3 Versioning and use S3-managed keys
Why it's wrong here
Versioning does not provide encryption.
- ✓
Configure S3 bucket with default encryption using SSE-S3 or SSE-KMS
Why this is correct
Default encryption ensures all objects are encrypted at rest.
- ✗
Use AWS Backup to back up to S3 with default settings
Why it's wrong here
AWS Backup does not encrypt backups unless configured.
Quick reference
Symmetric Encryption Algorithm Comparison
| Algorithm | Key Size | Block Size | Status | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| AES-128 | 128-bit | 128-bit | Current standard | NIST approved; WPA3, TLS |
| AES-256 | 256-bit | 128-bit | Current standard | Preferred for sensitive / govt data |
| 3DES | 112-bit effective | 64-bit | Deprecated (2023) | Replaced by AES |
| DES | 56-bit | 64-bit | Broken | Cracked in < 24 h; never deploy |
| ChaCha20 | 256-bit | Stream cipher | Current | TLS 1.3, WireGuard |
Go deeper
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Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
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