The answer is AWS Config, as it is the correct service for S3 SSE-KMS compliance enforcement with AWS Config. AWS Config provides a managed rule called s3-bucket-server-side-encryption-enabled that continuously evaluates whether all S3 buckets have encryption enabled, and you can pair this with a remediation action—such as an AWS Systems Manager Automation document—to automatically enable SSE-KMS on any non-compliant bucket, ensuring automated enforcement without manual intervention. On the AWS Certified SysOps Administrator Associate SOA-C02 exam, this scenario tests your understanding of how AWS Config rules integrate with remediation actions to enforce security policies, and a common trap is confusing AWS Config with AWS CloudTrail or AWS Lambda; remember that Config evaluates resource configurations, while CloudTrail records API activity. Memory tip: think “Config checks, then corrects” to recall that Config both detects and remediates non-compliance.
SOA-C02 Security and Compliance Practice Question
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. A key principle to apply: aWS Config continuously monitors resource configurations.. 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 SysOps administrator needs to ensure that all Amazon S3 buckets in an AWS account are configured with server-side encryption using AWS KMS (SSE-KMS). The administrator wants to automatically detect any S3 buckets that are not compliant and remediate them by enabling SSE-KMS. Which AWS service should be used to implement this automated compliance enforcement?
AWS Config can continuously monitor and evaluate S3 bucket encryption settings using managed rules and trigger auto-remediation actions to enable SSE-KMS on non-compliant buckets.
B
AWS Trusted Advisor
Why wrong: AWS Trusted Advisor provides security checks and recommendations but does not offer automated remediation capabilities.
C
AWS Service Catalog
Why wrong: AWS Service Catalog helps create and manage IT service catalogs; it does not enforce compliance on existing resources.
D
AWS CloudFormation
Why wrong: AWS CloudFormation is used to provision resources via templates; it does not continuously monitor or auto-remediate non-compliant configurations after initial deployment.
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
AWS Config
AWS Config is the correct service because it provides managed rules (e.g., s3-bucket-server-side-encryption-enabled) that can continuously evaluate S3 buckets for compliance with SSE-KMS. When a non-compliant bucket is detected, AWS Config can trigger an AWS Systems Manager Automation document or a custom remediation action (via AWS Config Rules remediation) to automatically enable SSE-KMS on the bucket, ensuring automated enforcement without manual intervention.
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
✓
AWS Config
Why this is correct
AWS Config can continuously monitor and evaluate S3 bucket encryption settings using managed rules and trigger auto-remediation actions to enable SSE-KMS on non-compliant buckets.
AWS Trusted Advisor provides security checks and recommendations but does not offer automated remediation capabilities.
✗
AWS Service Catalog
Why it's wrong here
AWS Service Catalog helps create and manage IT service catalogs; it does not enforce compliance on existing resources.
✗
AWS CloudFormation
Why it's wrong here
AWS CloudFormation is used to provision resources via templates; it does not continuously monitor or auto-remediate non-compliant configurations after initial deployment.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is that candidates often confuse AWS Config's reactive compliance monitoring with Trusted Advisor's advisory checks, or assume CloudFormation can handle post-deployment compliance, but only AWS Config provides the continuous evaluation and automated remediation required for this use case.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
Under the hood, AWS Config evaluates resources against rules using a configuration recorder that tracks resource changes and invokes AWS Lambda functions for custom remediation. For SSE-KMS enforcement, the managed rule checks the 'BucketEncryption' property of each S3 bucket; if SSE-KMS is not set, the rule marks the bucket as non-compliant and can trigger an SSM Automation document (e.g., AWS-EnableS3BucketEncryption) that applies the encryption configuration via the PutBucketEncryption API. A subtle behavior is that AWS Config remediation actions require an IAM role with permissions to modify the S3 bucket, and the automation document must be configured to specify the KMS key ID or use the default aws/s3 key.
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
Got this wrong? Here's your next step.
Review aWS Config continuously monitors resource configurations., then practise related SOA-C02 questions on the same topic to reinforce the concept.
Security and Compliance — This question tests Security and Compliance — AWS Config continuously monitors resource configurations..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: AWS Config — AWS Config is the correct service because it provides managed rules (e.g., s3-bucket-server-side-encryption-enabled) that can continuously evaluate S3 buckets for compliance with SSE-KMS. When a non-compliant bucket is detected, AWS Config can trigger an AWS Systems Manager Automation document or a custom remediation action (via AWS Config Rules remediation) to automatically enable SSE-KMS on the bucket, ensuring automated enforcement without manual intervention.
What should I do if I get this SOA-C02 question wrong?
Review aWS Config continuously monitors resource configurations., then practise related SOA-C02 questions on the same topic to reinforce the concept.
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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 SysOps administrator needs to ensure that all Amazon S3 buckets in an AWS account are encrypted at rest. The administrator wants to automatically remediate any bucket that is created without default encryption. Which AWS service should be used to achieve this with the least operational overhead?
easy
✓ A.AWS Config with a managed rule and auto-remediation via AWS Systems Manager Automation
B.AWS CloudTrail with Amazon CloudWatch Events and AWS Lambda
C.AWS Trusted Advisor with Amazon Simple Notification Service (SNS)
D.Amazon Inspector with AWS Systems Manager Patch Manager
Why A: AWS Config with the managed rule 's3-bucket-default-encryption-enabled' can detect S3 buckets that lack default encryption. By attaching an AWS Systems Manager Automation document (e.g., 'AWS-EnableS3BucketEncryption') as an auto-remediation action, the administrator can automatically apply AES-256 or AWS-KMS encryption to noncompliant buckets without manual intervention, minimizing operational overhead.
Variation 2. A company requires that all Amazon S3 buckets in its AWS account must be encrypted using AWS KMS (SSE-KMS). The SysOps administrator needs to detect any bucket that does not have KMS encryption enabled and automatically remediate it by enabling encryption. Which AWS service should be used to implement this automated compliance enforcement?
medium
✓ A.AWS Config
B.AWS CloudTrail
C.Amazon GuardDuty
D.AWS Trusted Advisor
Why A: AWS Config is the correct service because it can continuously monitor S3 bucket configurations against a desired encryption state using managed rules like 's3-bucket-server-side-encryption-enabled' or custom Lambda rules. When a non-compliant bucket is detected, AWS Config can trigger an automatic remediation action via Systems Manager Automation to enable SSE-KMS encryption, enforcing compliance without manual intervention.
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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.
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