← SCS-C02·Amazon Web Services

Question 118 of 1,748

Infrastructure Security →hardMultiple ChoiceObjective-mapped

How to Encrypt Traffic Over AWS Direct Connect: IPsec VPN Solution

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 uses AWS Direct Connect to connect its on-premises data center to a VPC. The security team wants to encrypt all traffic between on-premises and the VPC. Which solution should be used?

A
Enable encryption on the Direct Connect virtual interface
Why wrong: Direct Connect does not natively encrypt traffic.
B
Use VPC Peering with encryption
Why wrong: VPC Peering does not encrypt traffic.
C
Set up an IPsec VPN over the Direct Connect connection
IPsec VPN provides encryption over Direct Connect.
D
Configure TLS on all applications
Why wrong: TLS encrypts application data, not the network path.

Full breakdown with real-world context →

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

✓

Set up an IPsec VPN over the Direct Connect connection

Option C is correct because Direct Connect does not natively encrypt traffic; it provides a private, low-latency connection but the data traverses it in cleartext. By establishing an IPsec VPN tunnel over the Direct Connect link (often called a 'Direct Connect VPN' or using a virtual private gateway with a VPN attachment), you encrypt all traffic between on-premises and the VPC at the network layer, meeting the security team's requirement for 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.

✗
Enable encryption on the Direct Connect virtual interface
Why it's wrong here
Direct Connect does not natively encrypt traffic.
✗
Use VPC Peering with encryption
Why it's wrong here
VPC Peering does not encrypt traffic.
✓
Set up an IPsec VPN over the Direct Connect connection
Why this is correct
IPsec VPN provides encryption over Direct Connect.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
✗
Configure TLS on all applications
Why it's wrong here
TLS encrypts application data, not the network path.

Common exam traps

Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword

The trap here is that candidates assume Direct Connect inherently provides encryption because it is a private connection, but AWS explicitly states that Direct Connect does not encrypt traffic, and the correct approach is to overlay an IPsec VPN tunnel.

Detailed technical explanation

How to think about this question

IPsec VPN over Direct Connect typically uses a virtual private gateway (VGW) or a transit gateway with a VPN attachment, leveraging IKEv2 for key exchange and ESP/AH for encryption (e.g., AES-256, SHA-256). This setup ensures that even though the physical path is private, the data is encrypted end-to-end, which is critical for compliance with standards like PCI DSS or HIPAA that mandate encryption in transit. A subtle behavior is that the IPsec tunnel adds overhead (up to ~5% packet size increase), which can impact MTU settings and require adjustments to avoid fragmentation.

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 healthcare organisation deploys an application with a public-facing web tier and a private database tier. The database subnet has no public IP and only accepts connections from the web tier's security group. Questions like this test whether you can design cloud network isolation using VNets/VPCs, subnets, and security group rules.

Quick reference

VPN Protocol Comparison

Protocol	Port	Encryption	Authentication	Use Case
IKEv2 / IPsec	UDP 500 / 4500	AES-256	Certificates / PSK	Site-to-site & remote access
SSL / TLS VPN	TCP 443	TLS 1.3	Certificates / MFA	Clientless remote access
L2TP / IPsec	UDP 1701	AES (IPsec)	PSK / Certificates	Legacy remote access
WireGuard	UDP 51820	ChaCha20	Public keys	Modern high-performance VPN
PPTP	TCP 1723	MPPE (weak)	MS-CHAPv2	Legacy — avoid in production

PPTP is considered insecure. IKEv2/IPsec and SSL VPN are the current recommended options.

What to study next

Got this wrong? Here's your next step.

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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: Set up an IPsec VPN over the Direct Connect connection — Option C is correct because Direct Connect does not natively encrypt traffic; it provides a private, low-latency connection but the data traverses it in cleartext. By establishing an IPsec VPN tunnel over the Direct Connect link (often called a 'Direct Connect VPN' or using a virtual private gateway with a VPN attachment), you encrypt all traffic between on-premises and the VPC at the network layer, meeting the security team's requirement for encryption.

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.

About these practice questions

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Same concept, more angles

3 more ways this is tested on SCS-C02

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 has an AWS Direct Connect connection to its on-premises data center. The company wants to ensure that all traffic between the data center and AWS is encrypted. Which solution meets this requirement?

easy

A.Use a Site-to-Site VPN connection over the internet.
✓ B.Use a Direct Connect gateway with a public virtual interface and an IPsec VPN.
C.Use AWS PrivateLink with TLS termination.
D.Use Direct Connect as is because it is already encrypted.

Why B: Option B is correct because it combines a Direct Connect public virtual interface with an IPsec VPN to encrypt all traffic between the on-premises data center and AWS. The public VIF provides a private, low-latency connection to AWS public services, while the IPsec VPN (typically using IKEv2 and ESP) adds encryption over that physical link, ensuring confidentiality and integrity. This meets the requirement of encrypting all traffic without relying on the public internet.

Variation 2. A company uses AWS Direct Connect to connect its on-premises data center to AWS. The connection is set up with a private VIF to a VPC using a virtual private gateway. The security team wants to encrypt all traffic between on-premises and the VPC. Which solution should be implemented?

hard

A.Configure TLS on the applications
✓ B.Set up an IPsec VPN over the Direct Connect private VIF
C.Use a site-to-site VPN over the internet instead of Direct Connect
D.Enable encryption on the Direct Connect private VIF

Why B: Option B is correct because Direct Connect private VIFs do not natively encrypt traffic; they provide a private, dedicated network connection but the data traverses it in cleartext. By establishing an IPsec VPN tunnel over the private VIF, you encrypt all traffic between the on-premises network and the VPC, meeting the security team's requirement for encryption while still leveraging the low latency and reliability of Direct Connect.

Variation 3. A company has an AWS Direct Connect connection to its on-premises data center. The security team wants to ensure that traffic between the VPC and the data center is encrypted. Which solution should they use?

medium

✓ A.Set up an IPsec VPN connection over the Direct Connect virtual interface.
B.Enable encryption on the Direct Connect virtual interface.
C.Use AWS Site-to-Site VPN over the internet.
D.Use VPC Peering to connect the VPC to the data center.

Why A: AWS Direct Connect does not encrypt traffic by default. To encrypt, you can use an IPsec VPN over the Direct Connect virtual interface (option A). Option B is incorrect because Direct Connect does not support native encryption on the virtual interface; encryption must be added via IPsec or application-level encryption. Option C is not optimal because the requirement specifies using the existing Direct Connect connection, not internet-based VPN. Option D is incorrect because VPC Peering connects VPCs within AWS, not an on-premises data center, and does not provide encryption.

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