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SCS-C02 Data Protection Practice Question

Exhibit

Refer to the exhibit.

{
  "Version": "2012-10-17",
  "Statement": [
    {
      "Effect": "Deny",
      "Principal": "*",
      "Action": "s3:PutObject",
      "Resource": "arn:aws:s3:::my-bucket/*",
      "Condition": {
        "StringNotEquals": {
          "s3:x-amz-server-side-encryption": "aws:kms"
        }
      }
    },
    {
      "Effect": "Deny",
      "Principal": "*",
      "Action": "s3:PutObject",
      "Resource": "arn:aws:s3:::my-bucket/*",
      "Condition": {
        "Null": {
          "s3:x-amz-server-side-encryption": "true"
        }
      }
    }
  ]
}

A security engineer applies the bucket policy shown in the exhibit to an S3 bucket. What is the effect of this policy?

⚠ Common exam trap

SCS-C02 often tests the difference between SSE-S3 (AES-256, AWS-managed keys) and SSE-KMS (AWS KMS keys) in bucket policy conditions — candidates see 'server-side encryption' and incorrectly assume any encryption type satisfies the policy, missing the specific aws:kms value in the condition.

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

✓

Allows uploads only if they use SSE-KMS.

The bucket policy shown in the exhibit uses a Deny effect with a condition that checks whether the s3:x-amz-server-side-encryption header does not equal aws:kms, which means any upload request that does not specify SSE-KMS encryption is denied. Therefore, the policy effectively allows uploads only if they use SSE-KMS. This is a common pattern to enforce encryption at rest with a specific KMS key type.

Answer analysis

Option-by-option breakdown

For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.

✗
Allows uploads only if they use SSE-S3.
Why it's wrong here
The exhibit's condition matches a different encryption algorithm than SSE-S3, so uploads using SSE-S3 are denied rather than allowed. It is tempting because SSE-S3 is the default S3 encryption mode, making it the natural assumption when a policy appears to permit server-side encrypted uploads.
✗
Allows uploads without encryption.
Why it's wrong here
The policy denies PutObject when the request lacks the specified encryption header, so unencrypted uploads are rejected, not allowed. It tempts because bucket policies do commonly enforce encryption at upload, which is correct when the statement uses a Deny effect on the missing-header condition.
✗
Allows uploads with any server-side encryption.
Why it's wrong here
The policy's condition restricts uploads to a specific encryption header value, so uploads using other server-side encryption modes are denied, not permitted. It is tempting because a wildcard-style condition on encryption headers would indeed accept any SSE algorithm, but the exhibit names one algorithm explicitly.
✓
Allows uploads only if they use SSE-KMS.
Why this is correct
The policy's `s3:PutObject` statement carries a `StringNotEquals` condition on `s3:x-amz-server-side-encryption` with value `aws:kms`, so any upload lacking the SSE-KMS header is explicitly denied. This satisfies the stem's constraint by permitting only requests specifying SSE-KMS encryption, blocking SSE-S3 and unencrypted writes.

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

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Free SCS-C02 Practice Test 3 — 30 Questions→Free SCS-C02 Practice Test 1 — 30 Questions→SCS-C02 Practice Exam 2 — 20 Questions→

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Data Protection Management and Security Governance Security Logging and Monitoring Threat Detection and Incident Response

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SCS-C02 Data Protection Practice Question

Exhibit

Why each option matters

Option-by-option breakdown

AWS S3 Storage Class Comparison

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