Question 1mediummultiple choice
Full question →mediummultiple choiceObjective-mapped
A company's security policy requires that all new Amazon S3 buckets must have server-side encryption with AWS Key Management Service (SSE-KMS) enabled by default. A SysOps administrator wants to enforce this requirement for all current and future S3 buckets in the account. Which AWS service or feature should be used to automatically apply this configuration?
Answer choices
Why each option matters
Good practice is not just finding the correct option. The wrong answers often show the exact trap the exam wants you to fall into.
A
Distractor review
Enable S3 default encryption at the account level in the S3 console.
S3 does not have an account-level default encryption setting. Default encryption must be enabled on each bucket individually.
B
Distractor review
Create an AWS CloudTrail trail that captures S3 API calls and triggers a Lambda function to enable encryption on any bucket that is created without it.
This is possible but requires custom code and is not a managed solution. It also does not fix existing buckets automatically.
C
Distractor review
Use an AWS Organizations Service Control Policy (SCP) to deny the s3:PutBucketPublicAccessBlock action, forcing users to enable encryption.
SCPs are used to control permissions, not to directly configure encryption. Also, this does not automatically enable encryption on existing buckets.
D
Best answer
Use AWS Config with the 's3-bucket-server-side-encryption-enabled' managed rule and configure automatic remediation to apply SSE-KMS when a non-compliant bucket is detected.
AWS Config can evaluate all buckets (current and future) against the rule. Automatic remediation can invoke an SSM Automation document or a Lambda function to enable SSE-KMS on the bucket, meeting the requirement with a managed service.
Common exam trap
Common exam trap: ACLs stop at the first match
ACLs are processed top to bottom. The first matching entry wins, and an implicit deny usually exists at the end.
Technical deep dive
How to think about this question
ACL questions test precision: source, destination, protocol, port and direction. A generally correct ACL can still fail if it is applied on the wrong interface or in the wrong direction.
KKey Concepts to Remember
- Standard ACLs match source addresses.
- Extended ACLs can match source, destination, protocol and ports.
- The first matching ACL entry is used.
- There is usually an implicit deny at the end.
TExam Day Tips
- Check inbound versus outbound direction.
- Read the ACL from top to bottom.
- Look for a broader permit or deny above the intended line.
Related practice questions
Related SOA-C02 practice-question pages
Use these pages to review the topic behind this question. This is how one missed question becomes focused revision.
More questions from this exam
Keep practising from the same exam bank, or move into a focused topic page if this question exposed a weak area.
Question 1
A company uses Amazon CloudFront to deliver content to a global audience. The origin is an Application Load Balancer in us-east-1. The SysOps administrator wants to reduce costs by minimizing the number of requests that reach the origin server. Which action should the administrator take?
Question 2
A company runs a batch processing application on Amazon EC2 that runs for 2 hours every night. The workload can tolerate interruptions. Which EC2 purchasing option provides the lowest cost for this use case?
Question 3
A SysOps administrator needs to monitor the CPU utilization of an Amazon RDS DB instance and receive an alarm when CPU utilization exceeds 80% for 5 consecutive minutes. Which AWS service should be used to create this alarm?
Question 4
A company runs a critical web application on Amazon EC2 instances in an Auto Scaling group behind an Application Load Balancer (ALB). The application uses session stickiness (sticky sessions) to maintain user sessions. The SysOps administrator notices that when instances are replaced during a scale-in or failure event, users lose their session data. The administrator needs to preserve session data across instance failures without losing stickiness benefits. What should the administrator do?
Question 5
A company runs a production web application on a single Amazon EC2 instance. The application experiences a predictable and steady workload 24/7. The SysOps administrator wants to minimize compute costs for this instance while ensuring it remains available during the expected workload. Which EC2 purchasing option should the administrator use?
Question 6
A company has a VPC with public and private subnets. The private subnets host application servers that need to make outbound HTTPS connections to the internet. The SysOps administrator must implement a solution that provides outbound internet connectivity while preventing inbound connections from the internet. Additionally, the solution must allow the company to control which domains the application servers can access. Which solution should the administrator implement?
FAQ
Questions learners often ask
What does this SOA-C02 question test?
Standard ACLs match source addresses.
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Use AWS Config with the 's3-bucket-server-side-encryption-enabled' managed rule and configure automatic remediation to apply SSE-KMS when a non-compliant bucket is detected. — The best way to enforce default encryption on all new S3 buckets is to use the S3 default encryption feature at the bucket level, but that must be set per bucket. AWS Config can detect non-compliant buckets and use automated remediation to apply the setting. However, a proactive approach is to use S3 default encryption at the account level using the S3 console? S3 does not have an account-level default encryption setting; it must be set per bucket. AWS Config with automatic remediation can fix non-compliant buckets, but it is reactive. The most effective proactive approach is to use a Service Control Policy (SCP) to deny bucket creation unless the encryption is set? That is complex. AWS Config rules can detect and auto-remediate. But the question asks 'automatically apply this configuration' for both current and future buckets. The best answer is to use AWS Config with a rule that checks for default encryption and a remediation action that enables SSE-KMS. Option A: 'S3 default encryption' can be set per bucket but not applied to existing or future buckets automatically. Option B: AWS CloudTrail logs cannot configure encryption. Option C: AWS Organizations SCPs can prevent creation of buckets without encryption by denying the action, but they require careful policy writing and do not automatically fix existing buckets. Option D: AWS Config with a managed rule and auto-remediation is the most straightforward.
What should I do if I get this SOA-C02 question wrong?
Then try more questions from the same exam bank and focus on understanding why the wrong options are tempting.
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