- A
AWS Config
AWS Config records configuration changes of supported AWS resources, evaluates them against configurable rules (including managed rules for security group permissions), and provides a history of changes. It integrates with Amazon SNS to send notifications when resources are noncompliant.
- B
Amazon GuardDuty
Why wrong: Amazon GuardDuty is a threat detection service that continuously monitors for malicious activity and unauthorized behavior. It does not evaluate resource configurations against compliance rules or maintain a configuration history.
- C
AWS Security Hub
Why wrong: AWS Security Hub aggregates findings from AWS Config, GuardDuty, Inspector, etc., and provides a comprehensive view of security alerts and compliance status. However, it does not directly evaluate resource configurations; it relies on AWS Config or other services to generate the findings.
- D
AWS CloudTrail
Why wrong: AWS CloudTrail records API calls to AWS resources for audit and governance. While it can show who made a change, it does not evaluate the resulting configuration against compliance rules nor provide automated compliance notifications.
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 manages 20 AWS accounts under AWS Organizations. The security team wants to ensure that no security group in any account allows unrestricted inbound RDP access (0.0.0.0/0). They need to automatically detect any security group that violates this rule and receive a notification. They also want to track the configuration history of security group changes for forensic analysis. Which AWS service should they use to achieve these requirements?
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 the correct service because it provides managed rules like 'restricted-common-ports' or a custom Lambda rule to detect security groups with inbound RDP access from 0.0.0.0/0. It continuously evaluates resource configurations, sends Amazon SNS notifications on noncompliant resources, and automatically records a configuration history of all security group changes, enabling forensic analysis. This directly meets the requirements for detection, notification, and historical tracking.
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 records configuration changes of supported AWS resources, evaluates them against configurable rules (including managed rules for security group permissions), and provides a history of changes. It integrates with Amazon SNS to send notifications when resources are noncompliant.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
- ✗
Amazon GuardDuty
Why it's wrong here
Amazon GuardDuty is a threat detection service that continuously monitors for malicious activity and unauthorized behavior. It does not evaluate resource configurations against compliance rules or maintain a configuration history.
- ✗
AWS Security Hub
Why it's wrong here
AWS Security Hub aggregates findings from AWS Config, GuardDuty, Inspector, etc., and provides a comprehensive view of security alerts and compliance status. However, it does not directly evaluate resource configurations; it relies on AWS Config or other services to generate the findings.
When this WOULD be correct
A company wants a single pane of glass to view high-priority security alerts from GuardDuty, Inspector, and Macie across multiple accounts, and needs to automate remediation workflows based on those findings.
- ✗
AWS CloudTrail
Why it's wrong here
AWS CloudTrail records API calls to AWS resources for audit and governance. While it can show who made a change, it does not evaluate the resulting configuration against compliance rules nor provide automated compliance notifications.
When this WOULD be correct
A company needs to audit all API calls made to create or modify security groups across multiple AWS accounts for forensic analysis, and they want to receive notifications for specific API events. They do not need to evaluate the actual configuration of security groups against a rule.
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.
✓AWS ConfigCorrect answer▾
Why this is correct
AWS Config records configuration changes of supported AWS resources, evaluates them against configurable rules (including managed rules for security group permissions), and provides a history of changes. It integrates with Amazon SNS to send notifications when resources are noncompliant.
✗AWS Security HubWrong answer — click to see why▾
Why this is wrong here
AWS Security Hub aggregates findings from multiple services but does not itself track configuration history or provide compliance rules for security group changes. It cannot detect unrestricted RDP access or maintain a configuration history for forensic analysis.
★ When this WOULD be the correct answer
A company wants a single pane of glass to view high-priority security alerts from GuardDuty, Inspector, and Macie across multiple accounts, and needs to automate remediation workflows based on those findings.
Why candidates choose this
Candidates may think Security Hub provides comprehensive security monitoring and compliance checks, but it relies on other services like AWS Config for resource configuration tracking and rule evaluation.
✗AWS CloudTrailWrong answer — click to see why▾
Why this is wrong here
AWS CloudTrail records API activity for governance and audit, but it does not evaluate security group rules against compliance rules or send notifications for non-compliant configurations. It also does not track configuration history of resources like security groups; it tracks API calls, not resource state changes.
★ When this WOULD be the correct answer
A company needs to audit all API calls made to create or modify security groups across multiple AWS accounts for forensic analysis, and they want to receive notifications for specific API events. They do not need to evaluate the actual configuration of security groups against a rule.
Why candidates choose this
Candidates may confuse CloudTrail's ability to log API calls with the ability to evaluate resource configurations and track configuration history, assuming that logging security group changes is sufficient for compliance monitoring.
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 confuse AWS Security Hub's aggregation and dashboard capabilities with the underlying compliance evaluation and history recording that only AWS Config provides, leading them to choose Security Hub instead of the service that actually performs the detection and tracking.
Trap categories for this question
Command / output trap
AWS CloudTrail records API calls to AWS resources for audit and governance. While it can show who made a change, it does not evaluate the resulting configuration against compliance rules nor provide automated compliance notifications.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
AWS Config records configuration items (CIs) for each supported resource type (e.g., AWS::EC2::SecurityGroup) in a configuration history bucket (S3) and a configuration timeline (via the AWS Config API). The managed rule 'restricted-common-ports' uses an AWS Lambda function to evaluate security group rules against a list of prohibited ports (e.g., TCP 3389 for RDP) and allowed IP ranges (e.g., 0.0.0.0/0), triggering an SNS notification when noncompliant. This ensures both real-time detection and a full audit trail for forensic analysis.
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.
Quick reference
Cloud Service Model Comparison
| Model | You Manage | Provider Manages | Examples |
|---|---|---|---|
| IaaS | OS, runtime, apps, data | Hardware, hypervisor, networking | EC2, Azure VMs, GCP Compute Engine |
| PaaS | Apps and data | OS, runtime, middleware, hardware | Elastic Beanstalk, Azure App Service |
| SaaS | Data and settings only | Everything else | Microsoft 365, Salesforce, Workday |
| FaaS / Serverless | Function code only | Infra, scaling, runtime | Lambda, Azure Functions, Cloud Run |
| CaaS | Containers and apps | Kubernetes, OS, hardware | EKS, AKS, GKE |
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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Security and Compliance — study guide chapter
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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 the correct service because it provides managed rules like 'restricted-common-ports' or a custom Lambda rule to detect security groups with inbound RDP access from 0.0.0.0/0. It continuously evaluates resource configurations, sends Amazon SNS notifications on noncompliant resources, and automatically records a configuration history of all security group changes, enabling forensic analysis. This directly meets the requirements for detection, notification, and historical tracking.
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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