AWS Certified Security – Specialty Q&A: Configure end-to-end encryption between Elastic Load Balancer and EC2 instances with LEAST operational effort.

Question

A company hosts an end user application on AWS. Currently, the company deploys the application on Amazon EC2 instances behind an Elastic Load Balancer. The company wants to configure end-to-end encryption between the Elastic Load Balancer and the EC2 instances.

Which solution will meet this requirement with the LEAST operational effort?

A. Use Amazon issued AWS Certificate Manager (ACM) certificates on the EC2 instances and the Elastic Load Balancer to configure end-to-end encryption.
B. Import a third-party SSL certificate to AWS Certificate Manager (ACM). Install the third-party certificate on the EC2 instances. Associate the ACM imported third-party certificate with the Elastic Load Balancer.
C. Deploy AWS CloudHSM. Import a third-party certificate. Configure the EC2 instances and the Elastic Load Balancer to use the CloudHSM imported certificate.
D. Import a third-party certificate bundle to AWS Certificate Manager (ACM). Install the third-party certificate on the EC2 instances. Associate the ACM imported third-party certificate with the Elastic Load Balancer.

Answer

B. Import a third-party SSL certificate to AWS Certificate Manager (ACM). Install the third-party certificate on the EC2 instances. Associate the ACM imported third-party certificate with the Elastic Load Balancer.

Explanation 1

The solution that would meet the requirement with the LEAST operational effort would be option A, which is to use Amazon issued AWS Certificate Manager (ACM) certificates on the EC2 instances and the Elastic Load Balancer to configure end-to-end encryption.

Here is a detailed explanation for each option:

A. Use Amazon issued AWS Certificate Manager (ACM) certificates on the EC2 instances and the Elastic Load Balancer to configure end-to-end encryption.

This option uses certificates issued by AWS Certificate Manager, which is a managed service that makes it easy to provision, manage, and deploy SSL/TLS certificates for use with AWS services and your internal connected resources.
By using ACM certificates on both the EC2 instances and the Elastic Load Balancer, end-to-end encryption can be configured with the least operational effort as there is no need to import or configure any third-party certificates.

This option involves importing a third-party SSL certificate to AWS Certificate Manager and then installing it on the EC2 instances.
While this option may be suitable for some scenarios, it requires additional operational effort as the certificate needs to be imported and installed manually.

C. Deploy AWS CloudHSM. Import a third-party certificate. Configure the EC2 instances and the Elastic Load Balancer to use the CloudHSM imported certificate.

This option involves deploying AWS CloudHSM which provides hardware security modules (HSMs) that enable you to generate and use your own encryption keys.
While using CloudHSM can provide additional security, it requires significant operational effort and is not the least effort option for configuring end-to-end encryption.

D. Import a third-party certificate bundle to AWS Certificate Manager (ACM). Install the third-party certificate on the EC2 instances. Associate the ACM imported third-party certificate with the Elastic Load Balancer.

This option is similar to option B, but instead of importing a single certificate, it involves importing a certificate bundle.
Again, this option requires additional operational effort as the certificate needs to be imported and installed manually.

In summary, option A is the best solution for configuring end-to-end encryption between the Elastic Load Balancer and the EC2 instances with the least operational effort.

Explanation 2

To meet the requirement of configuring end-to-end encryption between the Elastic Load Balancer and the EC2 instances with the least operational effort, you should follow these steps:

Import your third-party SSL certificate to AWS Certificate Manager (ACM). ACM simplifies the management and deployment of SSL/TLS certificates on supported AWS resources, such as Elastic Load Balancers. By importing your third-party SSL certificate, you can use ACM to deploy the certificate on your load balancer.
Install the same third-party SSL certificate on each of the Amazon EC2 instances that are running behind the Elastic Load Balancer. This ensures that all connections between the load balancer and the instances are encrypted using the same certificate.
Associate the imported ACM third-party certificate with the Elastic Load Balancer. This will configure the load balancer to use the SSL/TLS certificate for securing the connection between clients and the balancer.

By completing these steps, you will have end-to-end encryption with the least operational effort. Public ACM certificates cannot be installed directly on the EC2 instances, as mentioned in one of the search results. The other options (A, C, and D) would require more operational effort or would not meet the requirements stated in the question.

Explanation 3

The correct answer is A. Use Amazon issued AWS Certificate Manager (ACM) certificates on the EC2 instances and the Elastic Load Balancer to configure end-to-end encryption.

This solution will meet the requirements with the least operational effort because it does not require any additional hardware or software. AWS Certificate Manager (ACM) provides free, trusted certificates that can be used to secure your applications. You can easily import a third-party certificate into ACM, and then associate the certificate with your Elastic Load Balancer and EC2 instances.

The other options are more complex and require additional operational effort. For example, option B requires you to import a third-party certificate into ACM, and then install the certificate on your EC2 instances. Option C requires you to deploy AWS CloudHSM, which is a hardware security module (HSM) that can be used to store and manage encryption keys. Option D requires you to import a third-party certificate bundle into ACM, and then install the certificate on your EC2 instances.

Here is a table that summarizes the different options and their corresponding operational effort:

Option	Operational Effort
Use Amazon issued ACM certificates on the EC2 instances and the Elastic Load Balancer to configure end-to-end encryption.	Low
Import a third-party SSL certificate to ACM. Install the third-party certificate on the EC2 instances. Associate the ACM imported third-party certificate with the Elastic Load Balancer.	Medium
Deploy AWS CloudHSM. Import a third-party certificate. Configure the EC2 instances and the Elastic Load Balancer to use the CloudHSM imported certificate.	High
Import a third-party certificate bundle to ACM. Install the third-party certificate on the EC2 instances. Associate the ACM imported third-party certificate with the Elastic Load Balancer.	Medium

Explanation 4

This solution will meet the requirement of end-to-end encryption between the Elastic Load Balancer and the EC2 instances with the least operational effort. The Elastic Load Balancer will terminate HTTPS connections from clients using the ACM imported third-party certificate, and then forward HTTPS requests to the EC2 instances using the same certificate. The EC2 instances will terminate HTTPS connections from the load balancer using the installed third-party certificate.

Option A is incorrect because AWS issued ACM certificates can only be used on AWS resources such as load balancers and CloudFront distributions, not on EC2 instances.

Option C is incorrect because CloudHSM is a hardware-based key management service that requires more operational effort to set up and maintain than ACM. CloudHSM is typically used for applications that have strict compliance requirements or need direct control over their encryption keys.

Option D is incorrect because importing a third-party certificate bundle to ACM is not necessary if you already have a single third-party certificate that can be used on both the load balancer and the EC2 instances. A certificate bundle is a collection of certificates that are related in some way, such as a root certificate and intermediate certificates. A single certificate can be sufficient for end-to-end encryption if it is trusted by both parties.

Explanation 5

The correct answer is A. Use Amazon issued AWS Certificate Manager (ACM) certificates on the EC2 instances and the Elastic Load Balancer to configure end-to-end encryption.

This solution will meet the requirements with the least operational effort because it does not require the company to deploy any additional hardware or software. AWS Certificate Manager (ACM) provides a simple way to obtain and manage SSL/TLS certificates for use on AWS. ACM certificates can be used on both EC2 instances and Elastic Load Balancers.

The other options are more complex and require more operational effort. For example, option B requires the company to import a third-party certificate into ACM. This can be a time-consuming process, and it requires the company to have a process in place for managing third-party certificates. Option C requires the company to deploy AWS CloudHSM, which is a hardware security module (HSM) that can be used to store and manage encryption keys. CloudHSM is a more secure option than ACM, but it is also more complex to deploy and manage. Option D requires the company to import a third-party certificate bundle into ACM. This is a less common option than importing a single certificate, and it may not be supported by all third-party certificate providers.

Here is a table that summarizes the different options and their corresponding operational effort:

Option	Operational Effort
Use Amazon issued ACM certificates on the EC2 instances and the Elastic Load Balancer	Least
Import a third-party SSL certificate to ACM. Install the third-party certificate on the EC2 instances. Associate the ACM imported third-party certificate with the Elastic Load Balancer	More
Deploy AWS CloudHSM. Import a third-party certificate. Configure the EC2 instances and the Elastic Load Balancer to use the CloudHSM imported certificate	Most
Import a third-party certificate bundle to AWS Certificate Manager (ACM). Install the third-party certificate on the EC2 instances. Associate the ACM imported third-party certificate with the Elastic Load Balancer	More

Explanation 6

To configure end-to-end encryption between the Elastic Load Balancer and the EC2 instances with the least operational effort, you can use Amazon issued AWS Certificate Manager (ACM) certificates on the EC2 instances and the Elastic Load Balancer to configure end-to-end encryption. This is the easiest solution that meets your requirement.

Option B is not recommended because it requires importing a third-party SSL certificate to AWS Certificate Manager (ACM), installing the third-party certificate on the EC2 instances, and associating the ACM imported third-party certificate with the Elastic Load Balancer.

Option C is not recommended because it requires deploying AWS CloudHSM, importing a third-party certificate, and configuring the EC2 instances and the Elastic Load Balancer to use the CloudHSM imported certificate.

Option D is not recommended because it requires importing a third-party certificate bundle to AWS Certificate Manager (ACM), installing the third-party certificate on the EC2 instances, and associating the ACM imported third-party certificate with the Elastic Load Balancer.

Explanation 7

The correct answer is A. Use Amazon issued AWS Certificate Manager (ACM) certificates on the EC2 instances and the Elastic Load Balancer to configure end-to-end encryption.

This solution will meet the requirements with the LEAST operational effort because it does not require the company to deploy or manage any additional infrastructure. AWS Certificate Manager (ACM) is a managed service that provides free, trusted certificates for use with AWS services. ACM certificates can be used to secure both the Elastic Load Balancer and the EC2 instances.

The other options are more complex and require more operational effort. For example, option B requires the company to import a third-party certificate into ACM, and then install the certificate on the EC2 instances. Option C requires the company to deploy AWS CloudHSM, which is a hardware security module (HSM) that can be used to store and manage encryption keys. Option D requires the company to import a third-party certificate bundle into ACM, and then install the certificate bundle on the EC2 instances.

Here is a table that summarizes the different options and their corresponding operational effort:

Option	Operational Effort
Use Amazon issued ACM certificates on the EC2 instances and the Elastic Load Balancer to configure end-to-end encryption.	Least
Import a third-party SSL certificate to AWS Certificate Manager (ACM). Install the third-party certificate on the EC2 instances. Associate the ACM imported third-party certificate with the Elastic Load Balancer.	More
Deploy AWS CloudHSM. Import a third-party certificate. Configure the EC2 instances and the Elastic Load Balancer to use the CloudHSM imported certificate.	Most
Import a third-party certificate bundle to AWS Certificate Manager (ACM). Install the third-party certificate bundle on the EC2 instances. Associate the ACM imported third-party certificate with the Elastic Load Balancer.	More

Explanation 8

The solution that will meet this requirement with the LEAST operational effort is A. Use Amazon issued AWS Certificate Manager (ACM) certificates on the EC2 instances and the Elastic Load Balancer to configure end-to-end encryption.

This solution is the least operationally intensive because it requires no additional infrastructure or services. The AWS Certificate Manager (ACM) provides free SSL/TLS certificates that can be used to encrypt traffic between the Elastic Load Balancer and the EC2 instances.

Explanation 9

The correct answer is B. Import a third-party SSL certificate to AWS Certificate Manager (ACM). Install the third-party certificate on the EC2 instances. Associate the ACM imported third-party certificate with the Elastic Load Balancer. According to the AWS documentation and the AWS blog post, this solution will meet the requirement of configuring end-to-end encryption between the Elastic Load Balancer and the EC2 instances with the least operational effort. The steps are as follows:

Import a third-party SSL certificate to AWS Certificate Manager (ACM). This is a service that lets you easily provision, manage, and deploy public and private SSL/TLS certificates for use with AWS services and your internal connected resources. You can import a certificate that you obtained from a third-party certificate authority (CA) to ACM and use it with your Elastic Load Balancer.
Install the third-party certificate on the EC2 instances. This is necessary to enable the EC2 instances to terminate HTTPS connections from the Elastic Load Balancer and encrypt the traffic on the backend. The installation process varies depending on the platform and web server used by your application.
Associate the ACM imported third-party certificate with the Elastic Load Balancer. This is done by creating or modifying a secure listener for your load balancer and selecting the ACM certificate as the default certificate for the listener. This will enable the load balancer to terminate HTTPS connections from clients and encrypt the traffic on the frontend.

The other options are incorrect because:

Option A uses Amazon issued ACM certificates instead of third-party certificates. Amazon issued certificates are free and easy to use, but they cannot be installed on EC2 instances or other resources that are not integrated with ACM. Therefore, they cannot be used for end-to-end encryption between the load balancer and the EC2 instances.
Option C uses AWS CloudHSM instead of ACM. CloudHSM is a service that provides hardware security modules (HSMs) in the AWS Cloud. You can use CloudHSM to generate and store your own encryption keys in a single-tenant HSM cluster. However, CloudHSM is more complex and costly to set up and manage than ACM, and it does not integrate with Elastic Load Balancing directly. Therefore, it does not meet the requirement of least operational effort.
Option D uses an AWS Systems Manager rule instead of an AWS Config rule. Systems Manager does not have rules, but rather documents that define automation workflows. Additionally, option D uses an AWS Lambda function instead of linking the runbook as the automatic remediation step. Lambda functions are used to run code without provisioning or managing servers, not to link remediation actions with AWS Config rules.

Explanation 10

Here’s why:

A. Using Amazon issued AWS Certificate Manager (ACM) certificates on the EC2 instances is not possible. ACM certificates can only be used with specific integrated AWS services, and EC2 is not one of them.

C. Deploying AWS CloudHSM would not be the solution with the least operational effort. CloudHSM is a cloud-based hardware security module that enables you to easily generate and use your own encryption keys. It’s a more complex solution and requires more operational effort to manage.

D. Importing a third-party certificate bundle to AWS Certificate Manager (ACM) and installing the third-party certificate on the EC2 instances is essentially the same as option B. However, the term “certificate bundle” could imply additional certificates, such as intermediate certificates, which would add unnecessary complexity to the solution.

Option B is the most straightforward and requires the least operational effort. You can import your SSL certificate into ACM (which is a free service) and then associate it with your Elastic Load Balancer. For the EC2 instances, you would install the same third-party certificate. This ensures end-to-end encryption from the client to the Elastic Load Balancer and from the Elastic Load Balancer to the EC2 instances.

Explanation 11

The solution that will meet the requirement of configuring end-to-end encryption between the Elastic Load Balancer and the EC2 instances with the LEAST operational effort is option A: Use Amazon issued AWS Certificate Manager (ACM) certificates on the EC2 instances and the Elastic Load Balancer to configure end-to-end encryption.

Here’s a detailed explanation of why option A is the correct solution:

AWS Certificate Manager (ACM): ACM is a service provided by AWS that makes it easy to provision, manage, and deploy SSL/TLS certificates for use with AWS services. It simplifies the process of obtaining and managing certificates, removing the operational overhead of manual certificate management.
Amazon issued certificates: ACM can automatically provision and manage SSL/TLS certificates for you. It can generate and issue certificates that are trusted by major web browsers and operating systems. By using the Amazon issued certificates, you don’t need to go through the process of obtaining and managing third-party certificates.
Elastic Load Balancer (ELB): ELB is an AWS service that automatically distributes incoming application traffic across multiple targets, such as EC2 instances. ELB supports SSL/TLS termination, allowing you to configure HTTPS listeners to terminate SSL/TLS connections and decrypt the traffic.

By using the Amazon issued ACM certificates on both the EC2 instances and the Elastic Load Balancer, you can achieve end-to-end encryption with the least operational effort. Here’s how it works:

Generate an ACM certificate: Use ACM to generate a certificate for your domain or subdomain. ACM will handle the validation and issuance process, providing you with a trusted certificate.
Associate the certificate with EC2 instances: Install the ACM certificate on the EC2 instances that host your application. This ensures that the instances can handle encrypted traffic.
Configure the Elastic Load Balancer: Associate the same ACM certificate with the ELB’s HTTPS listener. This enables the ELB to terminate SSL/TLS connections, decrypt the traffic, and forward it to the EC2 instances over an encrypted channel.

With this setup, the traffic flows encrypted from the client to the ELB, and then encrypted again from the ELB to the EC2 instances. Using Amazon issued ACM certificates eliminates the need for importing third-party certificates, managing certificate bundles, or deploying additional services like AWS CloudHSM. It simplifies the configuration and reduces the operational effort required for managing SSL/TLS encryption.

Explanation 12

To configure end-to-end encryption between the Elastic Load Balancer and the EC2 instances, both the load balancer and the instances need to have valid SSL certificates. The easiest way to do this is to use AWS Certificate Manager (ACM), which provides and manages SSL certificates for AWS services. However, ACM only issues certificates for public domains, not for private domains or IP addresses. Therefore, using Amazon issued ACM certificates will not work for this scenario.

Instead, the company can import a third-party SSL certificate to ACM, which can be used for private domains or IP addresses. The company then needs to install the third-party certificate on the EC2 instances, which can be done using AWS Systems Manager or user data scripts. Finally, the company needs to associate the ACM imported third-party certificate with the Elastic Load Balancer, which can be done using the AWS Management Console or the AWS CLI.

This solution will meet the requirement of end-to-end encryption with the least operational effort, as it does not require deploying or managing additional AWS services such as CloudHSM, which is a hardware security module that provides cryptographic operations and key storage. CloudHSM is more complex and costly than ACM, and is not necessary for this scenario.

Reference

Amazon AWS Certified Security – Specialty certification exam practice question and answer (Q&A) dump with detail explanation and reference available free, helpful to pass the Amazon AWS Certified Security – Specialty exam and earn Amazon AWS Certified Security – Specialty certification.

Question

Answer

Explanation 1

Explanation 2

Explanation 3

Explanation 4

Explanation 5

Explanation 6

Explanation 7

Explanation 8

Explanation 9

Explanation 10

Explanation 11

Explanation 12

Reference

Your Support Matters...