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CCSP Practice Question: A healthcare organization is migrating its…
A healthcare organization is migrating its electronic health record (EHR) system to a public cloud. The system stores sensitive patient data subject to HIPAA. The cloud architect has designed a multi-tier architecture with load balancers, web servers, application servers, and a PostgreSQL database. The database contains ePHI. To meet compliance, the architect plans to encrypt the database at rest using AWS RDS encryption with KMS. However, during a security review, the compliance officer notes that the database backups are stored in an S3 bucket that is not encrypted. Additionally, the application logs, which may contain patient data, are sent to CloudWatch Logs without encryption. The compliance officer insists that all data stores containing ePHI must be encrypted at rest. Which action should the architect take to ensure compliance?
⚠ Common exam trap
Candidates often assume encrypting the RDS instance automatically encrypts all associated data stores, such as backups exported to S3 and CloudWatch Logs, when in fact each service requires separate encryption configuration.
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
✓
Enable S3 bucket encryption for backups and enable encryption for CloudWatch Logs using KMS.
HIPAA requires encryption of ePHI at rest in all data stores. The S3 bucket containing unencrypted database backups and the CloudWatch Logs that may contain patient data both need encryption enabled via KMS to meet compliance. AWS RDS encryption protects the live database, but backups and logs are separate storage locations that must also be encrypted.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✓
Enable S3 bucket encryption for backups and enable encryption for CloudWatch Logs using KMS.
Why this is correct
This ensures all data stores with ePHI are encrypted at rest.
- ✗
Disable automated backups and rely on point-in-time recovery.
Why it's wrong here
Disabling backups is not a compliance solution and may violate data retention policies.
- ✗
Enable encryption on the RDS instance and use encrypted replicas.
Why it's wrong here
This does not address the unencrypted backups and logs.
- ✗
Enable encryption on the S3 bucket only, since backups are the main concern.
Why it's wrong here
This ignores the CloudWatch Logs which may contain ePHI.
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 |
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JA
Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
This CCSP practice question is part of Courseiva's free ISC2 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 CCSP exam.