SCS-C02 Practice Questions 1 — 50 Questions

Question 1

A company wants to audit all API calls made to Amazon S3 within a specific AWS account. Which combination of services should be used to meet this requirement?

Accepted Answer

AWS CloudTrail and Amazon CloudWatch Logs.. AWS CloudTrail is the service that records all API calls made to Amazon S3 (and other AWS services) within an AWS account, capturing details such as the identity of the caller, the time of the call, the source IP address, and the request parameters. By delivering these logs to Amazon CloudWatch Logs, you can monitor, search, and set alarms on the API activity in real time, enabling comprehensive auditing of S3 operations.

Answer

Amazon Inspector and Amazon CloudWatch Logs.

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Amazon GuardDuty and Amazon CloudWatch Logs.

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AWS Config and Amazon CloudWatch Logs.

Question 2

The exhibit shows an SCP attached to an organizational unit. What is the effect of this policy?

Accepted Answer

It allows s3:PutBucketPolicy only if the bucket ACL is set to bucket-owner-full-control.. The SCP denies s3:PutBucketPolicy only when the bucket ACL is not set to 'bucket-owner-full-control'. If the ACL is set to that value, the action is allowed. Thus, it ensures that when a bucket policy is created, the ACL must grant full control to the bucket owner. It does not deny all PutBucketPolicy actions.

Answer

It denies all s3:PutBucketPolicy actions on all buckets.

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It denies s3:PutBucketPolicy for any bucket that does not have an ACL.

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It allows s3:PutBucketPolicy for buckets owned by the management account.

Question 3

A security team is designing an automated incident response system. The system must meet the following requirements: (1) automatically respond to GuardDuty findings, (2) ensure that response actions are logged and immutable, and (3) allow for human approval before destructive actions. Which services should the team use? (Select THREE.)

Accepted Answer

Amazon EventBridge. Amazon EventBridge (A) is correct because it can receive GuardDuty findings in near real-time and route them to downstream targets for automated response. This enables the first requirement by triggering workflows directly from GuardDuty events without custom polling.

Answer

AWS Lambda

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Amazon Simple Notification Service (SNS)

Question 4

A security engineer finds this IAM policy attached to a user. The user is able to create CloudTrail trails but cannot start logging. What is the MOST likely reason?

Accepted Answer

The user lacks `iam:PassRole` permission for the CloudTrail service role.. The user can create CloudTrail trails but cannot start logging because starting logging requires the `iam:PassRole` permission to pass the CloudTrail service role to the CloudTrail service. Without this permission, CloudTrail cannot assume the role needed to write logs to the S3 bucket and deliver them to CloudWatch Logs, even though the user has `cloudtrail:CreateTrail` and `cloudtrail:StartLogging` actions in the policy.

Answer

The `StartLogging` action is not listed in the policy.

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The policy does not specify the `cloudtrail:StartLogging` action.

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The user does not have permission to create CloudTrail trails.

Question 5

A security engineer is investigating a potential data exfiltration incident where an attacker used a compromised EC2 instance to transfer data to an external IP. Which TWO AWS services can provide evidence of the network traffic and the API calls made from the instance?

Accepted Answer

VPC Flow Logs. VPC Flow Logs capture metadata about IP traffic going to and from network interfaces, including the source/destination IP, ports, protocol, and packet/byte counts. This provides direct evidence of data being transferred to an external IP address from the compromised EC2 instance. AWS CloudTrail records API calls made within the AWS environment, such as those executed by the EC2 instance's IAM role or the instance itself (e.g., via the AWS CLI or SDK), which can reveal actions like starting data transfers or modifying security groups to allow exfiltration.

Answer

AWS Config

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Amazon GuardDuty

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Amazon Inspector

Question 6

During a security incident, a forensic investigator needs to capture the memory of a running EC2 instance without shutting it down. Which AWS feature should be used?

Accepted Answer

EC2 Rescue for Linux or Systems Manager Run Command with a memory dump script. EC2 Rescue for Linux (via Systems Manager Run Command) includes a built-in script that can capture a full memory dump from a running EC2 instance without requiring a shutdown. This is essential for forensic analysis to preserve volatile data like running processes, network connections, and kernel structures. The script leverages the Linux 'vmcore' or 'LiME' (Linux Memory Extractor) tool to safely extract memory contents while the instance remains operational.

Answer

Amazon CloudWatch agent

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AWS CloudTrail

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Amazon EBS snapshot

Question 7

A security engineer needs to monitor for unusual outbound network traffic from an EC2 instance. Which AWS service provides this capability?

Accepted Answer

VPC Flow Logs. VPC Flow Logs capture metadata about IP traffic going to and from network interfaces in a VPC, including source/destination IPs, ports, protocols, and packet counts. This allows a security engineer to analyze outbound traffic patterns from an EC2 instance and detect anomalies such as data exfiltration or communication with known malicious IPs. The logs can be published to Amazon CloudWatch Logs or Amazon S3 for further analysis with tools like Amazon Athena or third-party SIEMs.

Answer

Amazon CloudWatch Logs agent

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Amazon Inspector

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AWS Config

Question 8

A DevOps engineer notices that an EC2 instance's CloudWatch agent is not sending custom metrics to CloudWatch. The agent is installed and the configuration file is valid. The instance has an IAM role attached. What is the most likely reason for the failure?

Accepted Answer

The IAM role attached to the instance does not have the cloudwatch:PutMetricData permission.. The CloudWatch agent requires IAM permissions to publish custom metrics. Even if the agent is installed, running, and has a valid configuration, it will fail to send metrics if the attached IAM role lacks the `cloudwatch:PutMetricData` action. This is a common misconfiguration where the instance has an IAM role, but the role's policy does not explicitly grant the necessary CloudWatch write permissions.

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The instance does not have internet access to reach CloudWatch endpoints.

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The CloudWatch agent is not running as root.

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The CloudWatch agent configuration file has a syntax error.

Question 9

A security engineer creates an Amazon CloudWatch Events rule with this event pattern to trigger an AWS Lambda function for automated response to GuardDuty findings. However, the Lambda function is not triggered for new findings. What is the MOST likely cause?

Accepted Answer

The event pattern does not match the actual structure of GuardDuty findings.. The event pattern provided in the CloudWatch Events rule must exactly match the JSON structure of a GuardDuty finding as it is published to the default event bus. GuardDuty findings are delivered with a specific schema that includes a `detail` object containing `type`, `severity`, and other fields. If the event pattern uses incorrect field names, nesting, or missing required elements (e.g., `source` must be `aws.guardduty`), CloudWatch Events will not match the incoming events, and the Lambda function will not be triggered.

Answer

The finding type is not specified in the pattern.

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CloudTrail is not enabled in the account.

Answer

The Lambda function does not have permission to be invoked by CloudWatch Events.

Question 10

A company has an Amazon S3 bucket with a bucket policy that restricts access to a specific VPC endpoint. However, users are still able to access the bucket from outside the VPC. Which THREE steps should the security engineer take to troubleshoot this issue? (Choose THREE.)

Accepted Answer

Check the VPC endpoint policy to ensure it allows the actions the users are performing.. The VPC endpoint policy acts as an additional access control layer. Even if the bucket policy correctly restricts access to the VPC endpoint, the endpoint policy must explicitly allow the actions (e.g., s3:GetObject) that users are performing. If the endpoint policy denies or does not include those actions, the request will fail at the endpoint level, but if it is too permissive, it can allow access from outside the intended VPC if the bucket policy condition is misconfigured. Checking the endpoint policy ensures that it does not inadvertently grant broader permissions than intended.

Answer

Verify that the security group associated with the VPC endpoint allows inbound traffic.

Answer

Ensure the VPC endpoint is in the same region as the S3 bucket.

Question 11

Which TWO actions should a security engineer take to ensure that Amazon GuardDuty can effectively monitor for suspicious activity in a VPC? (Choose two.)

Accepted Answer

Enable DNS query logging and publish to CloudWatch Logs.. Amazon GuardDuty relies on DNS query logs to detect suspicious domain name resolution patterns, such as DNS tunneling or communication with known malicious domains. By enabling DNS query logging and publishing to CloudWatch Logs, GuardDuty can ingest this data as a source for its threat detection algorithms. Without DNS logs, GuardDuty cannot analyze DNS-based attack vectors within the VPC.

Answer

Enable CloudTrail data events for S3.

Answer

Enable S3 server access logs.

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Enable AWS Config configuration history.

Question 12

A company uses AWS Organizations with multiple accounts. The security team wants to ensure that all API calls in the organization are logged and retained for at least one year. Which AWS services or features should be used to meet these requirements? (Choose TWO.)

Accepted Answer

Amazon S3 lifecycle policy to transition logs to S3 Glacier after one year.. An Amazon S3 lifecycle policy can automatically transition CloudTrail log objects from S3 Standard to S3 Glacier after one year, meeting the retention requirement cost-effectively. Option E is correct because AWS CloudTrail with an organization trail logs all API calls across all accounts in the AWS Organization, ensuring comprehensive logging.

Answer

Amazon GuardDuty with threat detection enabled.

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AWS Config with recording enabled for all resources.

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VPC Flow Logs for all VPCs.

Question 13

A company wants to encrypt data stored in Amazon S3 using server-side encryption with customer-provided keys (SSE-C). Which statement is correct regarding SSE-C?

Accepted Answer

The customer provides the encryption key in each request to S3.. SSE-C requires the customer to provide the encryption key and its MD5 digest in every PUT or GET request to Amazon S3. S3 uses the key to encrypt the object at rest and then discards the key; it is never stored by AWS. This ensures the customer retains full control over the encryption key material.

Answer

AWS manages the encryption keys.

Answer

The same encryption key is used for all objects in the bucket.

Answer

The encryption key is stored in AWS KMS.

Question 14

A security engineer is designing an automated incident response workflow for an Amazon EC2 instance that is compromised. The workflow must isolate the instance by removing it from the security group that allows SSH access. The engineer wants to use AWS Systems Manager Automation to run a document. What is the most secure way to grant the automation the necessary permissions to modify the security group?

Accepted Answer

Create a Systems Manager Automation service role with a least-privilege policy that includes ec2:ModifySecurityGroupRules and use that role in the automation.. Systems Manager Automation can assume a dedicated service role with a least-privilege IAM policy that includes the specific action `ec2:ModifySecurityGroupRules`. This follows the security best practice of granting only the permissions required for the automation to modify the security group, without exposing broader privileges or relying on user or instance credentials.

Answer

Create an AWS Lambda function with permissions to modify the security group and call it from the automation.

Answer

Use the IAM user's permissions that trigger the automation.

Answer

Attach an IAM policy to the EC2 instance's instance profile that allows ec2:ModifySecurityGroupRules.

Question 15

A security engineer needs to ensure that an EC2 instance can only be launched using an approved Amazon Machine Image (AMI) from a specific AWS account. Which AWS service should be used to enforce this requirement?

Accepted Answer

AWS Service Catalog. AWS Service Catalog allows you to create and manage a portfolio of approved products, such as EC2 instances launched from specific AMIs. By defining a product that uses an approved AMI from a particular AWS account and enforcing launch constraints, you can ensure that only that AMI is used. IAM policies alone cannot restrict the AMI ID at launch time because they lack the granularity to filter by source account or AMI ID in the ec2:RunInstances action.

Answer

IAM policies

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AWS Config

Answer

AWS Image Builder

Question 16

A security engineer is reviewing the CloudTrail configuration for a trail named 'management-trail'. The engineer needs to ensure that all S3 object-level operations in the bucket 'my-bucket' are logged. What is the issue with the current configuration?

Accepted Answer

The 'Values' field should end with a '/*' to capture all objects under the prefix.. The 'DataResources' value should include a trailing '/*' to indicate all objects under the prefix. Option A is incorrect because the ReadWriteType is 'All', which covers both read and write. Option C is incorrect because the event selector includes management events. Option D is incorrect because the trail is not necessarily multi-region from this output.

Answer

The ReadWriteType is set to 'All', which does not include write events.

Answer

The IncludeManagementEvents should be set to false to focus on data events.

Answer

The trail should be configured as a multi-region trail to capture all regions.

Question 17

A financial services company uses AWS KMS to encrypt sensitive data in S3 and RDS. The security team requires a centralized audit trail of all KMS key usage, including key creation, deletion, and cryptographic operations. The audit logs must be stored in a separate AWS account for compliance. The team has enabled CloudTrail in the management account and configured a trail that logs to an S3 bucket in the audit account. However, they notice that KMS events such as Decrypt and GenerateDataKey are not appearing in the CloudTrail logs. The KMS key policy includes the following statement: {"Effect":"Allow","Principal":{"AWS":"arn:aws:iam::management-account:root"},"Action":"kms:*","Resource":"*"}. What is the MOST likely reason for the missing KMS events?

Accepted Answer

CloudTrail is not configured to log KMS data events.. CloudTrail does log KMS events by default, but they are data events and must be explicitly enabled. Option B is correct because KMS data events (like Decrypt and GenerateDataKey) are not logged unless CloudTrail is configured to capture them. Option C is wrong because the key policy grants full access to the management account, so it is sufficient. Option D is wrong because cross-account access is not the issue; the trail is logging to an S3 bucket in the audit account, but that does not affect which events are logged.

Answer

The S3 bucket in the audit account does not have a bucket policy allowing writes from CloudTrail.

Answer

CloudTrail does not log KMS Decrypt and GenerateDataKey events.

Answer

The KMS key policy does not grant CloudTrail permission to log events.

Question 18

A security engineer needs to capture all network traffic between EC2 instances in a VPC for forensic analysis. Which TWO services should be used together? (Choose TWO.)

Accepted Answer

Amazon VPC Flow Logs. Amazon VPC Flow Logs capture IP traffic information for network interfaces in a VPC, including metadata such as source/destination IPs, ports, protocols, and packet accept/reject decisions. To perform forensic analysis on this raw flow log data, you can use Amazon Athena to query the logs directly from S3 using standard SQL, enabling efficient filtering and pattern detection across large volumes of network traffic.

Answer

AWS CloudTrail

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AWS Config

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Amazon GuardDuty

Question 19

A security engineer is investigating a potential compromise. The engineer has captured a memory dump from an EC2 instance and needs to analyze it for malware. Which TWO actions should the engineer take to preserve the chain of custody? (Choose TWO.)

Accepted Answer

Record the date, time, and digital signature of the acquisition.. Recording the date, time, and digital signature of the acquisition establishes a clear audit trail, which is essential for proving that the evidence has not been tampered with. In forensic investigations, this metadata is part of the standard chain-of-custody documentation that demonstrates who collected the evidence, when, and that it remains unaltered. A digital signature (e.g., using a tool like gpg or a signed hash) provides non-repudiation and integrity verification beyond a simple hash.

Answer

Create an EBS snapshot of the instance's root volume.

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Analyze the memory dump on the same EC2 instance.

Answer

Upload the memory dump to a public S3 bucket for analysis.

Question 20

Refer to the exhibit. A security engineer runs the 'simulate-custom-policy' command to test a policy. The output shows 'explicitDeny' for ec2:RunInstances. What is the most likely reason?

Accepted Answer

The policy includes an explicit Deny statement for ec2:RunInstances. The 'simulate-custom-policy' output shows 'explicitDeny', which indicates that the policy contains an explicit Deny statement for the action ec2:RunInstances. An explicitDeny is only returned when a Deny statement matches the action, not when the action is simply missing from an Allow list. Therefore, the most likely reason is that the policy includes an explicit Deny statement.

Answer

The policy does not include ec2:RunInstances in the Action list

Answer

The policy allows ec2:Describe* but the action ec2:RunInstances is not a Describe action

Answer

The policy uses a Resource of '*' which does not include the required resources