- A
AWS CloudHSM
Why wrong: CloudHSM provides dedicated hardware security modules but does not centrally manage keys as a service; it's more for custom key management.
- B
AWS Certificate Manager (ACM)
Why wrong: ACM manages SSL/TLS certificates, not data encryption keys.
- C
AWS Key Management Service (AWS KMS)
AWS KMS is a managed service for creating and controlling encryption keys.
- D
AWS Secrets Manager
Why wrong: Secrets Manager is for managing secrets like database credentials, not encryption keys for S3.
Question 936 of 1,748
SCS-C02 Infrastructure Security Practice Question
This SCS-C02 practice question tests your understanding of infrastructure security. 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 wants to encrypt data at rest in an Amazon S3 bucket. Which AWS service can centrally manage the encryption keys?
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
✓
AWS Key Management Service (AWS KMS)
AWS Key Management Service (AWS KMS) is the correct service because it is a fully managed, centralized service that allows you to create, manage, and control the encryption keys used to encrypt data at rest in Amazon S3. S3 integrates directly with KMS via Server-Side Encryption with AWS KMS (SSE-KMS), enabling you to use customer managed keys (CMKs) or AWS managed keys to enforce granular access control and audit key usage through AWS CloudTrail.
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.
- ✗
AWS CloudHSM
Why it's wrong here
CloudHSM provides dedicated hardware security modules but does not centrally manage keys as a service; it's more for custom key management.
- ✗
AWS Certificate Manager (ACM)
Why it's wrong here
ACM manages SSL/TLS certificates, not data encryption keys.
- ✓
AWS Key Management Service (AWS KMS)
Why this is correct
AWS KMS is a managed service for creating and controlling encryption keys.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
- ✗
AWS Secrets Manager
Why it's wrong here
Secrets Manager is for managing secrets like database credentials, not encryption keys for S3.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is that candidates often confuse AWS CloudHSM with KMS because both involve encryption keys, but CloudHSM is a hardware-based key storage service that lacks native integration with S3 for centralized key management, whereas KMS is the intended service for SSE-KMS.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
Under the hood, when you use SSE-KMS, S3 sends a GenerateDataKey request to KMS to obtain a data encryption key (DEK) that is encrypted under a customer master key (CMK); the plaintext DEK is used to encrypt the object and then discarded, while the encrypted DEK is stored with the object. A subtle behavior is that KMS enforces a per-account request quota (e.g., 5,500 requests per second per Region by default) which can throttle high-volume S3 PUT operations, requiring you to request a quota increase or use SSE-S3 for higher throughput. In a real-world scenario, a company subject to compliance standards like PCI DSS would use KMS with customer managed keys to enforce key rotation and separate key management duties from storage 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 SCS-C02 question test?
Infrastructure Security — This question tests Infrastructure Security — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: AWS Key Management Service (AWS KMS) — AWS Key Management Service (AWS KMS) is the correct service because it is a fully managed, centralized service that allows you to create, manage, and control the encryption keys used to encrypt data at rest in Amazon S3. S3 integrates directly with KMS via Server-Side Encryption with AWS KMS (SSE-KMS), enabling you to use customer managed keys (CMKs) or AWS managed keys to enforce granular access control and audit key usage through AWS CloudTrail.
What should I do if I get this SCS-C02 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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Courseiva creates original exam-style practice questions with explanations and wrong-answer analysis. It does not publish real exam questions, exam dumps, or protected exam content. Learn why practice questions differ from exam dumps →
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Last reviewed: Jul 4, 2026
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