Amazon Web Services SAA-C03 Exam With Confidence Using Practice Dumps

In Amazon EKS, Kubernetes stores objects such as Secrets in the cluster’s etcd key-value store. By default, Kubernetes Secrets are base64-encoded and are not automatically encrypted at the application object level unless encryption is configured. Amazon EKS provides a managed capability to encrypt Kubernetes Secrets at rest in etcd using AWS Key Management Service (KMS). The requirement explicitly states that “all secrets that are stored in Amazon EKS must be encrypted in the Kubernetes etcd key-value store,” which maps directly to enabling EKS secrets encryption with a customer-managed KMS key.

Option B is exactly this: create a KMS key and enable EKS KMS secrets encryption on the cluster. With this enabled, EKS uses envelope encryption so that Secrets are encrypted when stored in etcd, and decrypt operations are controlled through KMS permissions. This is the standard, AWS-native method that fulfills the requirement without requiring application changes or external secret stores for the encryption-at-rest requirement in etcd.

Option A (Secrets Manager) is a strong service for secret lifecycle management and rotation, but it does not by itself guarantee that Kubernetes Secrets stored in etcd are encrypted unless EKS secrets encryption is also enabled or the cluster avoids storing secrets in etcd entirely. The question specifically targets etcd encryption. Option C is unrelated: the EBS CSI driver concerns persistent volumes, not etcd secret encryption. Option D concerns EBS volume encryption and a specific AWS-managed key alias used for EBS; it also does not address etcd encryption for Kubernetes Secrets.

Therefore, B is the correct solution because it directly enables encryption of Kubernetes Secrets within etcd using KMS.

AWS Lambda supports encrypting environment variables at rest using AWS KMS. You can use encryption helpers (or Lambda’s built-in support) to encrypt sensitive environment variable values using a KMS key. These encrypted variables are not visible in plaintext to developers, either in the console or when running the code.

AWS Documentation Extract:

" AWS Lambda automatically encrypts environment variables at rest. For additional security, you can use AWS KMS keys and encryption helpers to encrypt environment variables, ensuring they are never exposed in plaintext. "

(Source: AWS Lambda documentation, Environment Variables Security)

A: Does not address the issue (and adds more management overhead).

B, C: There is no native support for environment variable encryption via CloudHSM or ACM.

This solution provides the most secure access for external support engineers with the least exposure to potential security risks.

AWS Systems Manager (SSM) and Session Manager: Systems Manager Session Manager allows secure and auditable access to EC2 instances without the need to open inbound SSH ports or manage SSH keys. This reduces the attack surface significantly. The SSM Agent must be installed and configured on all instances, and the instances must have an instance profile with the necessary IAM permissions to connect to Systems Manager.

IAM Identity Center: IAM Identity Center provides centralized management of access to the AWS Management Console for external support engineers. By using IAM Identity Center, youcan control console access securely and ensure that external engineers have the appropriate permissions based on their roles.

Why Not Other Options?:

Option B (Local IAM user credentials): This approach is less secure because it involves managing local IAM user credentials and does not leverage the centralized management and security benefits of IAM Identity Center.

Option C (Security group with SSH access): Allowing SSH access opens up the infrastructure to potential security risks, even when restricted by IP addresses. It also requires managing SSH keys, which can be cumbersome and less secure.

Option D (Bastion host): While a bastion host can secure SSH access, it still requires managing SSH keys and opening ports. This approach is less secure and more operationally intensive compared to using Session Manager.

AWS References:

AWS Systems Manager Session Manager- Documentation on using Session Manager for secure instance access.

AWS IAM Identity Center- Overview of IAM Identity Center and its capabilities for managing user access.