AWS Certified Developer – Associate (DVA-C02) — Question 54

A developer is creating an AWS Lambda function that needs credentials to connect to an Amazon RDS for MySQL database. An Amazon S3 bucket currently stores the credentials. The developer needs to improve the existing solution by implementing credential rotation and secure storage. The developer also needs to provide integration with the Lambda function.
Which solution should the developer use to store and retrieve the credentials with the LEAST management overhead?

Answer options

• A. Store the credentials in AWS Systems Manager Parameter Store. Select the database that the parameter will access. Use the default AWS Key Management Service (AWS KMS) key to encrypt the parameter. Enable automatic rotation for the parameter. Use the parameter from Parameter Store on the Lambda function to connect to the database.
• B. Encrypt the credentials with the default AWS Key Management Service (AWS KMS) key. Store the credentials as environment variables for the Lambda function. Create a second Lambda function to generate new credentials and to rotate the credentials by updating the environment variables of the first Lambda function. Invoke the second Lambda function by using an Amazon EventBridge rule that runs on a schedule. Update the database to use the new credentials. On the first Lambda function, retrieve the credentials from the environment variables. Decrypt the credentials by using AWS KMS, Connect to the database.
• C. Store the credentials in AWS Secrets Manager. Set the secret type to Credentials for Amazon RDS database. Select the database that the secret will access. Use the default AWS Key Management Service (AWS KMS) key to encrypt the secret. Enable automatic rotation for the secret. Use the secret from Secrets Manager on the Lambda function to connect to the database.
• D. Encrypt the credentials by using AWS Key Management Service (AWS KMS). Store the credentials in an Amazon DynamoDB table. Create a second Lambda function to rotate the credentials. Invoke the second Lambda function by using an Amazon EventBridge rule that runs on a schedule. Update the DynamoDB table. Update the database to use the generated credentials. Retrieve the credentials from DynamoDB with the first Lambda function. Connect to the database.

Correct answer: C

Explanation

The correct answer is C because AWS Secrets Manager is specifically designed for storing and managing sensitive information like database credentials, offering built-in automatic rotation and easy integration with AWS services like Lambda. Options A, B, and D involve more management overhead, such as maintaining separate functions or using less optimal storage solutions that do not specifically cater to credential management.