This SCS-C02 practice question tests your understanding of data protection. Match the stated requirement to the specific cloud service, access model, or configuration option — many options are valid in isolation but not for this scenario. 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 AWS KMS to encrypt data in Amazon Redshift. They need to rotate the KMS key annually. Which approach meets the requirement with minimal operational impact?
Create a new KMS key each year and update the Redshift cluster to use the new key
Why wrong: Manual, higher impact.
Use an AWS Lambda function to rotate the key every year
Why wrong: Not needed; automatic rotation exists.
Enable automatic key rotation on the KMS key
Automated annual rotation.
Rotate the key by re-importing key material into an existing KMS key
Why wrong: Requires manual re-import; not minimal impact.
Answer choices
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
Enable automatic key rotation on the KMS key
Option C is correct because AWS KMS supports automatic annual key rotation for customer-managed KMS keys. Enabling this feature automatically rotates the key material once per year with no manual intervention, minimal operational overhead, and no impact on the Redshift cluster, which continues to use the same key ID.
Key principle: Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Answer analysis
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
Create a new KMS key each year and update the Redshift cluster to use the new key
Why it's wrong here
Manual, higher impact.
Use an AWS Lambda function to rotate the key every year
Why it's wrong here
Not needed; automatic rotation exists.
Enable automatic key rotation on the KMS key
Why this is correct
Automated annual rotation.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
Rotate the key by re-importing key material into an existing KMS key
Why it's wrong here
Requires manual re-import; not minimal impact.
Common exam traps
The trap here is that candidates may think automatic rotation is not available for KMS keys or that they must manually rotate keys using Lambda or by creating new keys, when in fact KMS provides a simple toggle for annual automatic rotation that requires no additional resources.
Detailed technical explanation
When automatic rotation is enabled on a customer-managed KMS key, AWS KMS generates new cryptographic key material every 365 days while retaining the old material, allowing decryption of data encrypted under previous versions. The key ID and ARN remain unchanged, so Redshift and other services experience no disruption; the new material is used for all future encryption operations. This is distinct from manual rotation, which would require updating key references and re-encrypting data.
Key takeaway
Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Real-world example
A cloud solutions architect for a retail company is evaluating services for a new workload. The correct answer here reflects best practice for the specific scenario described — not a general cloud recommendation. Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option. Cloud exam questions reward reading the constraint carefully: the same technology can be right or wrong depending on the use case.
What to study next
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FAQ
Data Protection — This question tests Data Protection — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
The correct answer is: Enable automatic key rotation on the KMS key — Option C is correct because AWS KMS supports automatic annual key rotation for customer-managed KMS keys. Enabling this feature automatically rotates the key material once per year with no manual intervention, minimal operational overhead, and no impact on the Redshift cluster, which continues to use the same key ID.
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
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Last reviewed: Jun 24, 2026
This SCS-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 SCS-C02 exam.
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