The correct answer involves three steps: enabling encryption at rest on the EFS file system, mounting the file system using TLS, and using a KMS customer managed key for encryption. Encryption at rest is a file-system-level attribute that you enable at creation time, ensuring all data written to the underlying storage is automatically encrypted using AES-256. Encryption in transit, on the other hand, is achieved by enforcing TLS when clients mount the file system, which protects data as it moves over the network. On the AWS Certified Security Specialty SCS-C02 exam, this question tests your understanding that EFS encryption at rest is not retroactive and that TLS is the required protocol for in-transit protection, not SSL certificates or AWS Certificate Manager. A common trap is assuming you can add encryption at rest later or that ACM plays a role in EFS mounts. Memory tip: think “EFS = Encrypt at File System creation, TLS for Transit, KMS for Key control.”
SCS-C02 Data Protection Practice Question
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 migrating on-premises file servers to Amazon EFS. The data must be encrypted at rest and in transit. Which THREE steps should the company take to meet these requirements?
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Use a KMS customer managed key for encryption at rest
Option A (Enable encryption at rest on the EFS file system), Option B (Mount the EFS file system using TLS), and Option D (Use a KMS customer managed key for encryption) are correct. Encryption at rest is enabled on the file system. Encryption in transit is achieved by using TLS when mounting. Using a customer managed key provides control over the encryption key. Option C is wrong because EFS does not use SSL certificates. Option E is wrong because AWS Certificate Manager is for other services, not EFS mount encryption.
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 a KMS customer managed key for encryption at rest
Why this is correct
Customer managed keys allow control and rotation.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
✗
Use AWS Certificate Manager to issue a certificate
Why it's wrong here
ACM is for load balancers and CloudFront, not EFS.
✗
Install an SSL certificate on the EFS file system
Why it's wrong here
EFS does not use SSL certificates; encryption in transit is via TLS.
✓
Mount the EFS file system using TLS
Why this is correct
TLS provides encryption in transit for NFS traffic.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
Many certification questions include familiar terms but test a specific constraint. Read the exact wording before choosing an answer that is generally true but wrong for this case.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
This question should be treated as a scenario, not a definition check. Identify the problem, the constraint and the best action. Then compare each option against those facts.
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.
Use explanations to understand the rule behind the answer.
TExam Day Tips
→Underline the problem statement mentally.
→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 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
Got this wrong? Here's your next step.
Identify which SCS-C02 exam domain this question belongs to, then review the specific concept being tested. Practise related questions in that domain and focus on understanding why each wrong answer is tempting — not just why the correct answer is right.
Data Protection — This question tests Data Protection — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Use a KMS customer managed key for encryption at rest — Option A (Enable encryption at rest on the EFS file system), Option B (Mount the EFS file system using TLS), and Option D (Use a KMS customer managed key for encryption) are correct. Encryption at rest is enabled on the file system. Encryption in transit is achieved by using TLS when mounting. Using a customer managed key provides control over the encryption key. Option C is wrong because EFS does not use SSL certificates. Option E is wrong because AWS Certificate Manager is for other services, not EFS mount encryption.
What should I do if I get this SCS-C02 question wrong?
Identify which SCS-C02 exam domain this question belongs to, then review the specific concept being tested. Practise related questions in that domain and focus on understanding why each wrong answer is tempting — not just why the correct answer is right.
What is the key concept behind this question?
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
About these practice questions
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 →
These questions test the same concept from different angles. Work through them to make sure you can recognise it however the exam phrases it.
Variation 1. A company needs to implement data protection for Amazon EFS file systems. Which TWO features should be configured?
easy
A.Configure EFS Block Public Access.
B.Enable EFS versioning.
✓ C.Enable encryption in transit using TLS.
D.Configure EFS lifecycle management to transition files to Infrequent Access.
✓ E.Enable encryption at rest using AWS KMS.
Why C: Option B is correct because EFS supports encryption at rest using KMS. Option D is correct because encryption in transit can be enforced using a mount option. Option A is wrong because EFS does not support versioning. Option C is wrong because EFS does not have Block Public Access; it uses security groups. Option E is wrong because EFS does not use lifecycle policies for data protection; they manage storage tiers.
Variation 2. A company is migrating its on-premises file server to Amazon EFS. The data includes sensitive financial records. The security team requires encryption at rest and in transit. The team plans to mount the EFS file system on EC2 instances using the NFS client. They have enabled encryption at rest on the EFS file system. However, they are unsure how to enforce encryption in transit. What should they do to ensure all data transferred between the EC2 instance and EFS is encrypted?
medium
✓ A.Mount the EFS file system using the `mount -t nfs4 -o tls` command on the EC2 instance.
B.Enable encryption in transit in the EFS file system policy and rely on the default NFS client behavior.
C.Set up a VPN connection between the VPC and the on-premises network to encrypt all traffic.
D.Use AWS Certificate Manager to issue a certificate for the EFS file system.
Why A: Option B is correct. To enforce encryption in transit for EFS, you must use the `mount` command with the `tls` option. This ensures the NFS client uses TLS encryption. Option A is wrong because enabling encryption in transit in the EFS console only allows it, but the client must also request it. Option C is wrong because VPC Peering does not encrypt traffic. Option D is wrong because AWS Certificate Manager is not used for EFS encryption in transit.
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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.
Question Discussion
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