CV0-004 Deployment Practice Question
A financial services company is deploying a critical application on AWS. The security team requires that all data stored in Amazon S3 be encrypted at rest using keys managed by the company, with the ability to audit key usage and rotate keys annually. The company also wants to minimize operational overhead. Which S3 encryption option should the cloud engineer implement?
⚠ Common exam trap
A common mix-up: candidates confuse SSE-KMS with AWS managed keys and customer managed keys, or assuming SSE-C provides auditing when it does not.
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-KMS with customer managed keys
SSE-KMS with customer managed keys provides the necessary control and auditing. The company can create KMS keys, set key policies, enable rotation, and track key usage through CloudTrail. This option balances security requirements with operational efficiency, as AWS manages the encryption and decryption process, but the customer retains control over the keys.
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-S3 with AWS managed keys
Why it's wrong here
SSE-S3 uses AWS managed keys that are fully managed by AWS, including rotation. However, the company cannot manage or audit these keys, nor can they control rotation. This does not meet the requirement for customer-managed keys with auditing capabilities.
- ✗
SSE-KMS with AWS managed keys
Why it's wrong here
SSE-KMS with AWS managed keys provides encryption but the keys are managed by AWS, similar to SSE-S3. The customer cannot control key rotation or audit key usage directly. This option does not satisfy the need for customer-managed keys and auditing.
- ✓
SSE-KMS with customer managed keys
Why this is correct
SSE-KMS with customer managed keys allows the company to create and manage their own KMS keys, control key policies, enable automatic key rotation, and audit key usage via AWS CloudTrail. This meets all requirements: customer-managed keys, auditing, rotation, and minimal operational overhead since KMS handles the encryption/decryption.
- ✗
SSE-C with customer-provided keys
Why it's wrong here
SSE-C requires the customer to provide and manage their own encryption keys outside of AWS. AWS does not store these keys. While this gives full control, it increases operational overhead and does not provide auditing of key usage via CloudTrail. This option fails the requirement to minimize operational overhead and enable auditing.
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 and reviewed by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
Last reviewed September 2026 · checked against the official CompTIA exam blueprint
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.