SOA-C02 Security and Compliance Practice Question
A company uses S3 to store sensitive data. To meet compliance requirements, all S3 buckets must be encrypted at rest. The security team notices that some objects in a bucket are not encrypted. What is the MOST efficient way to enforce encryption for all future objects?
⚠ Common exam trap
Test-takers frequently confuse default encryption (which is a bucket-level setting that can be overridden by the client) with a bucket policy (which enforces encryption at the request level and cannot be bypassed by the uploader).
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
✓
Create an S3 bucket policy that denies PutObject if the x-amz-server-side-encryption header is not present
A bucket policy that denies PutObject unless the `x-amz-server-side-encryption` header is present enforces encryption at the API level, preventing any unencrypted object from being uploaded. This is the most efficient approach as it proactively blocks non-compliant uploads without requiring post-upload remediation or manual intervention.
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 AWS Config managed rule to identify unencrypted objects and re-upload them manually
Why it's wrong here
Manual re-upload is inefficient and does not prevent future violations.
- ✗
Use S3 Inventory to list unencrypted objects and apply encryption via S3 Batch Operations
Why it's wrong here
Inventory reports but does not enforce; batch operations are reactive, not proactive.
- ✗
Enable default encryption on the bucket using AES-256
Why it's wrong here
Default encryption applies only to objects without encryption headers; objects can still be uploaded with no encryption.
- ✓
Create an S3 bucket policy that denies PutObject if the x-amz-server-side-encryption header is not present
Why this is correct
Bucket policy enforces encryption at upload time, rejecting unencrypted requests.
Quick reference
AWS S3 Storage Class Comparison
| Storage Class | Min Duration | Retrieval | Use Case |
|---|---|---|---|
| S3 Standard | None | Immediate | Frequently accessed data |
| S3 Standard-IA | 30 days | Immediate | Infrequent access, rapid retrieval |
| S3 One Zone-IA | 30 days | Immediate | Non-critical infrequent data |
| S3 Intelligent-Tiering | None | Immediate–hours | Unknown or changing access patterns |
| S3 Glacier Instant | 90 days | Milliseconds | Archive with instant retrieval |
| S3 Glacier Flexible | 90 days | Minutes–hours | Archive, flexible retrieval |
| S3 Glacier Deep Archive | 180 days | Hours | Long-term compliance archive |
Go deeper
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JA
Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
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.