This SOA-C02 practice question tests your understanding of security and compliance. Read the scenario carefully and evaluate each option against the stated constraints before committing to an answer. 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 Amazon RDS for MySQL and needs to encrypt data at rest. Which action should be taken to enable encryption?
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Create a new RDS DB instance with encryption enabled.
Amazon RDS for MySQL does not support enabling encryption on an existing DB instance. Encryption at rest must be enabled at the time of instance creation. Therefore, the correct action is to create a new RDS DB instance with encryption enabled, and then migrate the data from the unencrypted instance to the new encrypted one.
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 the RDS console to enable encryption on the existing DB instance.
Why it's wrong here
The RDS console does not allow enabling encryption on an existing instance.
✗
Use AWS KMS to create a customer master key and assign it to the existing DB instance.
Why it's wrong here
KMS keys are used for encryption, but the DB instance must be created with encryption.
✗
Modify the existing RDS DB instance and enable encryption.
Why it's wrong here
You cannot enable encryption on an existing RDS instance.
✓
Create a new RDS DB instance with encryption enabled.
Why this is correct
Encryption can only be enabled when the DB instance is created.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is that candidates assume encryption can be toggled on an existing RDS instance via a modification, similar to enabling encryption on an EBS volume, but RDS requires encryption to be set at launch and cannot be added later.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
RDS encryption uses AWS KMS to generate a data key that encrypts the DB instance's underlying storage, automated backups, read replicas, and snapshots. The encryption is applied at the storage layer using AES-256, and the key material is never stored on disk. A common real-world scenario is migrating a production database to encryption: you must take a snapshot of the unencrypted instance, restore it as a new encrypted instance, and update connection strings.
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 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 exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
Security and Compliance — This question tests Security and Compliance — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Create a new RDS DB instance with encryption enabled. — Amazon RDS for MySQL does not support enabling encryption on an existing DB instance. Encryption at rest must be enabled at the time of instance creation. Therefore, the correct action is to create a new RDS DB instance with encryption enabled, and then migrate the data from the unencrypted instance to the new encrypted one.
What should I do if I get this SOA-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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This SOA-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 SOA-C02 exam.
Question Discussion
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