- A
Use SSE-KMS with a customer managed key and restrict key usage with key policies.
Provides control and integration with existing KMS.
- B
Use client-side encryption before uploading to S3.
Why wrong: Adds complexity and key management overhead.
- C
Enable default S3 encryption with SSE-S3.
Why wrong: Uses AWS-managed keys, not company's KMS keys.
- D
Use SSE-KMS with the AWS managed key for S3.
Why wrong: AWS managed key, not customer managed.
Question 865 of 1,733
PAS-C01 Technology Practice Question
This PAS-C01 practice question tests your understanding of technology. This is a configuration task: choose the command set that satisfies every stated requirement. Small differences — like 'secret' vs 'password' or 'transport input ssh' vs 'all' — change whether the answer is correct. 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 using SAP HANA on AWS and needs to back up the database to Amazon S3. The backup must be encrypted at rest in S3. The company already uses AWS KMS for encryption. What is the MOST secure way to configure the backup?
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 SSE-KMS with a customer managed key and restrict key usage with key policies.
Option A is correct because using SSE-KMS with a customer managed key allows you to enforce granular key policies, including restricting key usage to specific IAM roles or conditions, and enables audit trails via AWS CloudTrail. This provides the highest level of control and security for encrypting SAP HANA backups at rest in S3, meeting the requirement for the most secure configuration.
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 SSE-KMS with a customer managed key and restrict key usage with key policies.
Why this is correct
Provides control and integration with existing KMS.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
- ✗
Use client-side encryption before uploading to S3.
Why it's wrong here
Adds complexity and key management overhead.
- ✗
Enable default S3 encryption with SSE-S3.
Why it's wrong here
Uses AWS-managed keys, not company's KMS keys.
- ✗
Use SSE-KMS with the AWS managed key for S3.
Why it's wrong here
AWS managed key, not customer managed.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is that candidates often assume the AWS managed key for S3 (aws/s3) is sufficient for encryption, but the question explicitly asks for the 'most secure' way, which requires customer managed keys with restrictive key policies to meet compliance and audit requirements.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
SSE-KMS with a customer managed key uses envelope encryption, where KMS generates a data key to encrypt the object and then encrypts that data key with the customer master key (CMK). This allows you to enforce key policies that can restrict encryption operations to specific VPC endpoints or require MFA, and you can track every KMS API call in CloudTrail for compliance. In a real-world scenario, a financial institution might use this to ensure that only the SAP HANA backup role can encrypt, and only the restore role can decrypt, preventing unauthorized access even by S3 administrators.
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 media company stores terabytes of video archives that are accessed once a year for audit purposes. Moving these objects to a cold storage tier (Azure Archive, S3 Glacier, or Google Nearline) costs a fraction of hot storage. Questions like this test whether you understand storage tiers, access frequency tradeoffs, and retrieval latency requirements.
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.
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FAQ
Questions learners often ask
What does this PAS-C01 question test?
Technology — This question tests Technology — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Use SSE-KMS with a customer managed key and restrict key usage with key policies. — Option A is correct because using SSE-KMS with a customer managed key allows you to enforce granular key policies, including restricting key usage to specific IAM roles or conditions, and enables audit trails via AWS CloudTrail. This provides the highest level of control and security for encrypting SAP HANA backups at rest in S3, meeting the requirement for the most secure configuration.
What should I do if I get this PAS-C01 question wrong?
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
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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