- A
AWS Config
AWS Config uses managed rules like iam-user-mfa-enabled to continuously evaluate IAM users and report non-compliance. This matches the requirement for automated detection and reporting without custom code.
- B
IAM Access Analyzer
Why wrong: IAM Access Analyzer analyzes resource-based policies to identify resources that are shared with external entities, not to check IAM user MFA settings. It does not provide compliance reporting for user configurations.
- C
AWS Trusted Advisor
Why wrong: AWS Trusted Advisor includes a security check for MFA on root account, but it does not evaluate MFA for all IAM users, nor does it provide continuous compliance automation with custom reporting.
- D
Amazon Inspector
Why wrong: Amazon Inspector assesses network and software vulnerabilities on EC2 instances and containers. It does not monitor IAM user configurations or MFA status.
Quick Answer
The answer is AWS Config, because it offers a fully managed, rules-based approach to continuously evaluate your AWS resource configurations without requiring any custom code. By enabling the built-in ‘iam-user-mfa-enabled’ managed rule, AWS Config automatically detects IAM users missing MFA and can generate compliance reports through aggregators, directly addressing the need to detect IAM users without MFA in an automated, code-free manner. On the AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner CLF-C02 exam, this scenario tests your understanding of AWS Config’s role in governance and compliance, often contrasting it with services like IAM Access Analyzer or Trusted Advisor—a common trap is confusing Config’s continuous evaluation with Trusted Advisor’s periodic checks. Remember the memory tip: “Config checks the config, not the access,” meaning it audits resource settings (like MFA status) rather than permissions or usage patterns.
CLF-C02 Security and Compliance Practice Question
This CLF-C02 practice question tests your understanding of security and compliance. This is a configuration task: choose the command set that satisfies every stated requirement. Small differences — like 'secret' vs 'password' or 'transport input ssh' vs 'all' — change whether the answer is correct. 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 requires all IAM users to have multi-factor authentication (MFA) enabled for AWS Management Console access. The security team needs an automated way to continuously detect any IAM user without an MFA device and generate a compliance report. The solution must not require custom code. Which AWS service should the team use?
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
AWS Config
AWS Config is correct because it provides a managed, rules-based evaluation of AWS resource configurations. By enabling the 'iam-user-mfa-enabled' managed rule, AWS Config continuously checks all IAM users for the presence of an MFA device and can automatically trigger remediation actions or generate compliance reports via AWS Config aggregators, all without any custom code.
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.
- ✓
AWS Config
Why this is correct
AWS Config uses managed rules like iam-user-mfa-enabled to continuously evaluate IAM users and report non-compliance. This matches the requirement for automated detection and reporting without custom code.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
- ✗
IAM Access Analyzer
Why it's wrong here
IAM Access Analyzer analyzes resource-based policies to identify resources that are shared with external entities, not to check IAM user MFA settings. It does not provide compliance reporting for user configurations.
- ✗
AWS Trusted Advisor
Why it's wrong here
AWS Trusted Advisor includes a security check for MFA on root account, but it does not evaluate MFA for all IAM users, nor does it provide continuous compliance automation with custom reporting.
- ✗
Amazon Inspector
Why it's wrong here
Amazon Inspector assesses network and software vulnerabilities on EC2 instances and containers. It does not monitor IAM user configurations or MFA status.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is that candidates often confuse AWS Trusted Advisor's root account MFA check with the broader requirement to check all IAM users, or they mistakenly think IAM Access Analyzer can audit user-level security settings like MFA.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
AWS Config evaluates resources against desired configurations using managed or custom rules. The 'iam-user-mfa-enabled' rule checks the 'MFADevices' attribute of each IAM user resource; if the list is empty, the resource is marked as noncompliant. AWS Config can then stream compliance data to Amazon S3 or SNS for reporting, and you can use AWS Config advanced queries to generate custom compliance reports across accounts and regions.
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.
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
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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: AWS Config — AWS Config is correct because it provides a managed, rules-based evaluation of AWS resource configurations. By enabling the 'iam-user-mfa-enabled' managed rule, AWS Config continuously checks all IAM users for the presence of an MFA device and can automatically trigger remediation actions or generate compliance reports via AWS Config aggregators, all without any custom code.
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.
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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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