CV0-004 Security Practice Question
A cloud engineer is configuring encryption for data stored in an S3 bucket. The company requires that encryption keys be managed by the organization, not the cloud provider. Which encryption option should be used?
⚠ Common exam trap
Candidates often confuse SSE-KMS with customer-managed keys, but KMS keys are still managed by AWS as a service, whereas SSE-C requires the customer to provide the key directly with each request, giving the organization full control.
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
✓
SSE-C
SSE-C (Server-Side Encryption with Customer-Provided Keys) allows the organization to manage their own encryption keys while AWS handles the encryption and decryption process. The customer provides the encryption key in each request, and AWS discards the key after the operation, ensuring the cloud provider never stores the key. This meets the requirement that keys be managed by the organization, not the cloud provider.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
SSE-KMS
Why it's wrong here
SSE-KMS uses AWS KMS keys, still managed by AWS albeit with customer control.
- ✗
SSE-S3
Why it's wrong here
SSE-S3 uses keys managed by AWS.
- ✓
SSE-C
Why this is correct
SSE-C allows the customer to supply and manage their own keys.
- ✗
Client-side encryption
Why it's wrong here
Client-side encryption encrypts data before sending, but the question is about server-side encryption options.
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 CV0-004 practice question is part of Courseiva's free CompTIA 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 CV0-004 exam.