A company's security team wants to continuously monitor their AWS environment for potential security threats such as unusual API calls, traffic from known malicious IP addresses, and anomalous behavior that might indicate a compromised resource. They need a managed threat detection service that uses machine learning to identify suspicious activity and generates detailed findings. The service should integrate with AWS Organizations to monitor multiple accounts and with Amazon CloudWatch Events to trigger automated responses. Which AWS service should the security team use?
Answer choices
Why each option matters
Good practice is not just finding the correct option. The wrong answers often show the exact trap the exam wants you to fall into.
Distractor review
Amazon Inspector
Amazon Inspector is a vulnerability management service that assesses workloads for software vulnerabilities and unintended network exposure. It does not monitor API calls or detect compromised credentials, and it does not use threat intelligence feeds for known malicious IP addresses in the same way GuardDuty does.
Distractor review
AWS Config
AWS Config is a compliance and resource inventory service that evaluates resource configurations against desired policies. It is not designed for real-time threat detection; it does not analyze API calls or incorporate threat intelligence.
Best answer
Amazon GuardDuty
Amazon GuardDuty is the correct service. It continuously monitors AWS accounts and workloads for malicious activity, using machine learning and integrated threat intelligence. It can monitor multiple accounts via AWS Organizations and send findings to CloudWatch Events for automated actions.
Distractor review
AWS CloudTrail
AWS CloudTrail records API activity in your account, providing an audit log. However, CloudTrail does not automatically analyze logs for threats or generate findings. To detect threats from CloudTrail logs, you need additional services like Amazon GuardDuty or Amazon Detective.
Common exam trap
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
Many certification questions include familiar terms but test a specific constraint. Read the exact wording before choosing an answer that is generally true but wrong for this case.
Technical deep dive
How to think about this question
This question should be treated as a scenario, not a definition check. Identify the problem, the constraint and the best action. Then compare each option against those facts.
KKey Concepts to Remember
- Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
- Find the constraint that changes the correct option.
- Eliminate answers that are true in general but not in this case.
- Use explanations to understand the rule behind the answer.
TExam Day Tips
- Underline the problem statement mentally.
- Watch for words such as best, first, most likely and least administrative effort.
- Review why wrong options are wrong, not only why the correct option is correct.
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More questions from this exam
Keep practising from the same exam bank, or move into a focused topic page if this question exposed a weak area.
Question 1
A developer needs to launch a test server for a new application prototype. The developer logs into the AWS Management Console, selects an Amazon EC2 instance type, configures the security group, and starts the instance. The instance is running within two minutes, and the developer did not need to submit a formal request to the company's IT procurement team or wait for approval from a cloud administrator. Which essential characteristic of cloud computing does this scenario best demonstrate?
Question 2
A solutions architect is planning a new web application on AWS. The workload will include 3 Amazon EC2 instances (t3.medium) running 24/7, an Application Load Balancer, and an Amazon RDS for MySQL db.t3.small database. The architect needs to estimate the monthly cost for the first year, considering different purchasing options (On-Demand, 1-year All Upfront Reserved Instance, and Compute Savings Plan). Which AWS tool should the architect use to create this estimate?
Question 3
A company's development team frequently needs temporary test environments. A developer can log into the AWS Management Console, select an Amazon EC2 instance type, configure storage, and launch the instance within minutes without any interaction with the IT infrastructure team. This capability is an example of which essential characteristic of cloud computing?
Question 4
A company's finance team needs to analyze AWS spending in detail. They require a report that includes hourly cost data for each AWS service, each individual resource (e.g., a specific EC2 instance), and any cost allocation tags applied. The team plans to export this data to an Amazon S3 bucket and then import it into a custom business intelligence (BI) analytics dashboard. Which AWS tool should the finance team use to generate this level of detailed cost data?
Question 5
A company uses AWS for its development environment. The finance team wants to set a monthly budget of $10,000. They want to receive an email notification when the actual costs reach 80% of the budget ($8,000) and again when costs exceed the budget. The team needs a managed AWS service that can automatically send these alerts without requiring custom code or third-party tools. Which AWS service should the team use?
Question 6
A company uses AWS Organizations to manage multiple accounts. The security team needs to enforce a policy that restricts SSH access (port 22) from the internet (0.0.0.0/0) in all VPCs across all accounts. The team wants to centrally define the allowed rules and automatically apply them to newly created VPCs and security groups, while also automatically remediating any existing non-compliant security groups. Which AWS service should the team use?
FAQ
Questions learners often ask
What does this CLF-C02 question test?
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Amazon GuardDuty — Amazon GuardDuty is a managed threat detection service that continuously monitors for malicious or unauthorized behavior across AWS accounts and workloads. It uses machine learning, anomaly detection, and integrated threat intelligence (including known malicious IP addresses) to identify threats. GuardDuty integrates with AWS Organizations to monitor all accounts in an organization, and it sends findings to Amazon CloudWatch Events for automated response workflows. Amazon Inspector focuses on vulnerabilities within EC2 instances and container images, not on API-level threat detection. AWS Config tracks resource configuration changes and compliance, not threat detection. AWS CloudTrail records API activity but does not automatically analyze for threats; additional services are needed for analysis.
What should I do if I get this CLF-C02 question wrong?
Then try more questions from the same exam bank and focus on understanding why the wrong options are tempting.
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