PAS-C01 Technology Practice Question
Exhibit
Refer to the exhibit.
{
"Version": "2012-10-17",
"Statement": [
{
"Effect": "Allow",
"Action": [
"s3:GetObject",
"s3:PutObject"
],
"Resource": "arn:aws:s3:::sap-backup-bucket/*"
},
{
"Effect": "Allow",
"Action": [
"kms:Decrypt",
"kms:GenerateDataKey"
],
"Resource": "arn:aws:kms:us-east-1:123456789012:key/abc123-..."
}
]
}An SAP administrator creates this IAM policy for an EC2 instance role used by SAP HANA Backint to back up to S3. The backups are failing with access denied errors for S3 operations. What is the most likely cause?
⚠ Common exam trap
The trap here is that candidates often focus only on S3 permissions (like ListBucket or wildcard ARNs) and overlook that KMS permissions are required when the S3 bucket uses SSE-KMS, which is a common default for SAP HANA backups in AWS.
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
✓
The policy does not include kms:Encrypt action.
SAP HANA Backint for S3 typically uses Server-Side Encryption with AWS KMS (SSE-KMS) to encrypt backups at rest. The IAM policy must include the `kms:Encrypt` action on the KMS key to allow the EC2 instance role to encrypt objects during upload. Without this permission, the S3 PutObject call fails with an access denied error, even if the S3 actions are correctly allowed.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
The policy does not allow s3:ListBucket action.
Why it's wrong here
ListBucket is not required for GetObject and PutObject.
- ✓
The policy does not include kms:Encrypt action.
Why this is correct
Backint needs kms:Encrypt to write encrypted objects.
- ✗
The policy uses a wildcard in the resource ARN for the bucket.
Why it's wrong here
Wildcard is correct for objects.
- ✗
The policy does not include kms:ReEncrypt action.
Why it's wrong here
ReEncrypt is not needed for this operation.
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
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