- A
Amazon GuardDuty
Amazon GuardDuty is the correct choice because it is designed to continuously analyze supported data sources (CloudTrail, VPC Flow Logs, DNS logs) to detect and generate findings for potential security threats.
- B
AWS Config
Why wrong: AWS Config evaluates configuration changes and compliance against rules, but it does not analyze logs for threat detection. It focuses on resource inventory and configuration history, not identifying malicious activity.
- C
AWS Trusted Advisor
Why wrong: AWS Trusted Advisor inspects your environment to provide recommendations on cost optimization, performance, security, fault tolerance, and service limits. It does not perform continuous threat detection or analyze VPC Flow Logs or DNS logs.
- D
Amazon Inspector
Why wrong: Amazon Inspector is a vulnerability management service that scans EC2 instances and container images for software vulnerabilities and unintended network exposure. It does not analyze CloudTrail, VPC Flow Logs, or DNS logs for threat detection.
CLF-C02 Security and Compliance Practice Question
This CLF-C02 practice question tests your understanding of security and compliance. Match the stated requirement to the specific cloud service, access model, or configuration option — many options are valid in isolation but not for this scenario. After answering, compare your reasoning against the explanation and wrong-answer breakdown below. Once you have made your selection, read the full explanation to reinforce the concept and understand why each distractor is designed to mislead on exam day.
A company wants to automatically detect potential security threats such as compromised credentials, unauthorized access attempts, and communication with known malicious IP addresses across its AWS environment. The company has enabled AWS CloudTrail, VPC Flow Logs, and DNS logs. Which AWS service should the company use to continuously analyze these logs and generate actionable security findings without requiring manual setup of data sources?
Answer choices
Why each option matters
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
Amazon GuardDuty
Amazon GuardDuty is a threat detection service that continuously analyzes AWS CloudTrail, VPC Flow Logs, and DNS logs using machine learning and anomaly detection to identify compromised credentials, unauthorized access, and communication with known malicious IP addresses. It operates without requiring manual setup of data sources because it automatically ingests these logs once enabled, generating actionable security findings.
Key principle: Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✓
Amazon GuardDuty
Why this is correct
Amazon GuardDuty is the correct choice because it is designed to continuously analyze supported data sources (CloudTrail, VPC Flow Logs, DNS logs) to detect and generate findings for potential security threats.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
- ✗
AWS Config
Why it's wrong here
AWS Config evaluates configuration changes and compliance against rules, but it does not analyze logs for threat detection. It focuses on resource inventory and configuration history, not identifying malicious activity.
When this WOULD be correct
A company needs to evaluate resource configurations for compliance with internal policies (e.g., ensuring S3 buckets are not publicly accessible) and track configuration changes over time. AWS Config would be the correct service to continuously monitor and record resource configurations and evaluate them against desired rules.
- ✗
AWS Trusted Advisor
Why it's wrong here
AWS Trusted Advisor inspects your environment to provide recommendations on cost optimization, performance, security, fault tolerance, and service limits. It does not perform continuous threat detection or analyze VPC Flow Logs or DNS logs.
When this WOULD be correct
A company wants to review its AWS account against AWS best practices for security, cost, performance, and fault tolerance, and receive recommendations for improvement without manual setup. AWS Trusted Advisor would be the correct service to provide these checks and recommendations.
- ✗
Amazon Inspector
Why it's wrong here
Amazon Inspector is a vulnerability management service that scans EC2 instances and container images for software vulnerabilities and unintended network exposure. It does not analyze CloudTrail, VPC Flow Logs, or DNS logs for threat detection.
When this WOULD be correct
A company wants to automatically assess EC2 instances for common vulnerabilities and exposures (CVEs) and network reachability issues, and needs a service that integrates with AWS Systems Manager to perform agent-based scans without manual setup.
Option-by-option analysis
Why each answer is right or wrong
Understanding why wrong answers are wrong — and when they would be correct — is what separates a 750 score from a 900. The CLF-C02 exam frequently reuses these exact scenarios with slightly different constraints.
✓Amazon GuardDutyCorrect answer▾
Why this is correct
Amazon GuardDuty is the correct choice because it is designed to continuously analyze supported data sources (CloudTrail, VPC Flow Logs, DNS logs) to detect and generate findings for potential security threats.
✗AWS ConfigWrong answer — click to see why▾
Why this is wrong here
AWS Config is designed for resource inventory, configuration history, and compliance auditing, not for analyzing logs to detect security threats like compromised credentials or malicious IPs. It does not continuously analyze CloudTrail, VPC Flow Logs, or DNS logs for threat detection.
★ When this WOULD be the correct answer
A company needs to evaluate resource configurations for compliance with internal policies (e.g., ensuring S3 buckets are not publicly accessible) and track configuration changes over time. AWS Config would be the correct service to continuously monitor and record resource configurations and evaluate them against desired rules.
Why candidates choose this
Candidates may confuse AWS Config's ability to detect configuration changes with threat detection, or assume that any security-related service can analyze logs for threats, overlooking the specialized purpose of GuardDuty.
✗AWS Trusted AdvisorWrong answer — click to see why▾
Why this is wrong here
AWS Trusted Advisor provides best-practice recommendations for cost optimization, performance, security, and fault tolerance, but it does not continuously analyze logs like CloudTrail, VPC Flow Logs, and DNS logs to detect threats such as compromised credentials or malicious IPs. It relies on periodic checks of AWS configurations, not real-time log analysis.
★ When this WOULD be the correct answer
A company wants to review its AWS account against AWS best practices for security, cost, performance, and fault tolerance, and receive recommendations for improvement without manual setup. AWS Trusted Advisor would be the correct service to provide these checks and recommendations.
Why candidates choose this
Candidates may confuse Trusted Advisor's security checks (e.g., for open ports or IAM use) with threat detection, assuming it can analyze logs for security threats, but it does not perform log analysis or generate findings from CloudTrail, VPC Flow Logs, or DNS logs.
✗Amazon InspectorWrong answer — click to see why▾
Why this is wrong here
Amazon Inspector is designed for vulnerability management, scanning workloads for software vulnerabilities and unintended network exposure, not for analyzing CloudTrail, VPC Flow Logs, or DNS logs to detect threats like compromised credentials or malicious IP communications.
★ When this WOULD be the correct answer
A company wants to automatically assess EC2 instances for common vulnerabilities and exposures (CVEs) and network reachability issues, and needs a service that integrates with AWS Systems Manager to perform agent-based scans without manual setup.
Why candidates choose this
Candidates may confuse Inspector's security scanning capabilities with threat detection, assuming it can analyze logs for security threats, but Inspector focuses on host-level vulnerabilities rather than log-based threat detection.
Analysis generated from the official CLF-C02blueprint and verified against question context. The “when correct” sections are what AI assistants cite when candidates ask “what’s the difference between these options?”
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is that candidates often confuse Amazon Inspector (which scans for vulnerabilities) with GuardDuty (which detects threats from logs), or assume AWS Config's compliance rules can detect security threats, when in fact Config only checks configuration drift, not log-based anomalies.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
GuardDuty uses integrated threat intelligence feeds (e.g., from AWS, CrowdStrike, Proofpoint) and machine learning models to detect suspicious patterns such as unusual API calls (CloudTrail), port scanning or traffic to known bad IPs (VPC Flow Logs), and DNS queries to malicious domains (DNS logs). A subtle behavior is that GuardDuty can also detect crypto-mining activity by analyzing DNS queries to known mining pools, which is a common real-world scenario for compromised EC2 instances.
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.
TExam Day Tips
- 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.
Key takeaway
Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Real-world example
How this comes up in practice
A company's IT admin needs to give a contractor read-only access to production logs without sharing account credentials. Using role-based access control (RBAC) and temporary scoped permissions — not a permanent shared password — is the correct pattern. Questions like this test whether you can apply least-privilege access across cloud identity services.
What to study next
Got this wrong? Here's your next step.
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FAQ
Questions learners often ask
What does this CLF-C02 question test?
Security and Compliance — This question tests Security and Compliance — 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 threat detection service that continuously analyzes AWS CloudTrail, VPC Flow Logs, and DNS logs using machine learning and anomaly detection to identify compromised credentials, unauthorized access, and communication with known malicious IP addresses. It operates without requiring manual setup of data sources because it automatically ingests these logs once enabled, generating actionable security findings.
What should I do if I get this CLF-C02 question wrong?
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
What is the key concept behind this question?
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
About these practice questions
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Last reviewed: Jun 11, 2026
This CLF-C02 practice question is part of Courseiva's free Amazon Web Services certification practice question bank. Courseiva provides original exam-style practice questions with explanations, topic-based practice, mock exams, readiness tracking, and study analytics to help learners prepare for the CLF-C02 exam.
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