Quick Answer
The answer is to use an AWS managed key. AWS managed KMS keys are automatically rotated every 365 days with no action required from the customer, directly satisfying the security team’s requirement for annual automatic key rotation without manual intervention. In contrast, customer managed keys do not support automatic rotation by default; while you can enable optional annual rotation for them, it requires explicit configuration and is not automatic out of the box. On the AWS Certified SysOps Administrator Associate SOA-C02 exam, this distinction tests your understanding of KMS key types and their default behaviors—a common trap is assuming all KMS keys rotate automatically, when in fact only AWS managed keys do so by default. Remember the memory tip: “AWS managed keys are on autopilot for annual rotation; customer managed keys need you to flip the switch.”
This SOA-C02 practice question tests your understanding of security and compliance. This is a configuration task: choose the command set that satisfies every stated requirement. Small differences — like 'secret' vs 'password' or 'transport input ssh' vs 'all' — change whether the answer is correct. 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 AWS KMS to encrypt data at rest in S3. The security team wants to ensure that encryption keys are automatically rotated annually. Which type of KMS key should be used?
Use an asymmetric KMS key
Why wrong: Asymmetric KMS keys are not automatically rotated.
Use a custom key store (CloudHSM)
Why wrong: Custom key stores do not support automatic key rotation.
Use an AWS managed key
AWS managed keys are automatically rotated every year.
Use a customer managed key with imported key material
Why wrong: Imported key material does not support automatic rotation.
Answer choices
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
Use an AWS managed key
AWS managed KMS keys (AWS managed keys) are automatically rotated every year (365 days) with no action required from the customer. This satisfies the security team's requirement for annual automatic key rotation without any manual intervention or additional configuration.
Key principle: Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Answer analysis
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
Use an asymmetric KMS key
Why it's wrong here
Asymmetric KMS keys are not automatically rotated.
Use a custom key store (CloudHSM)
Why it's wrong here
Custom key stores do not support automatic key rotation.
Use an AWS managed key
Why this is correct
AWS managed keys are automatically rotated every year.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
Use a customer managed key with imported key material
Why it's wrong here
Imported key material does not support automatic rotation.
Common exam traps
The trap here is that candidates often assume customer managed keys (with AWS generated material) also support automatic rotation, but the question specifically requires annual rotation without manual effort, and only AWS managed keys provide this by default without any setup.
Detailed technical explanation
AWS KMS automatic key rotation creates new backing keys for the same KMS key every 365 days while retaining the old backing keys for decryption of previously encrypted data. This is only supported for symmetric encryption KMS keys (SYMMETRIC_DEFAULT key spec) that are AWS managed or customer managed with AWS generated key material. The rotation does not change the key ID, ARN, or regional nature of the KMS key, ensuring seamless access to encrypted data.
Key takeaway
Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Real-world example
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.
What to study next
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Security and Compliance — study guide chapter
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FAQ
Security and Compliance — This question tests Security and Compliance — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
The correct answer is: Use an AWS managed key — AWS managed KMS keys (AWS managed keys) are automatically rotated every year (365 days) with no action required from the customer. This satisfies the security team's requirement for annual automatic key rotation without any manual intervention or additional configuration.
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
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 →
Same concept, more angles
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 uses AWS KMS to encrypt data stored in S3. The security team wants to rotate the KMS key automatically every year. The SysOps administrator enabled automatic key rotation for the KMS key. However, after a year, the security team finds that the key has not been rotated. What is the most likely cause?
mediumWhy D: Option C is correct because automatic key rotation is not supported for imported key material. Option A is wrong because the key is enabled. Option B is wrong because the policy does not affect rotation. Option D is wrong because rotation does not require deletion of old keys.
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Last reviewed: Jun 24, 2026
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.
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