← CLF-C02·Amazon Web Services

Question 214 of 1,024

Security and Compliance →easyMultiple ChoiceObjective-mapped

First Security Action After Creating AWS Account

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 is setting up their AWS account for the first time. What security action should they take immediately after creating the account?

Clue words in this question

Noticing these words before you look at the options changes how you read each choice.

Clue: "first"
Why it matters: Order matters here. You are being tested on which action comes before the others — not which action is generally useful.
Clue: "immediately / without restart"
Why it matters: Time or reboot constraint — the correct answer must take effect right away without requiring a reboot or reload.

A
Create IAM users for all employees immediately
Why wrong: Creating IAM users is important but the first priority is securing the root account itself — once root is secured, appropriate IAM users and roles can be set up.
B
Enable MFA on the root account and create an IAM admin user for daily operations
Enabling MFA on root prevents unauthorized root access even if the password is compromised. Creating an IAM admin user allows daily operations without ever logging in as root.
C
Create root access keys for programmatic access
Why wrong: Creating root access keys is a security anti-pattern — these keys have full account access, no permission boundaries, and are difficult to scope. Use IAM roles instead.
D
Enable AWS Config in all regions
Why wrong: Config is important for compliance monitoring, but securing the root account takes priority as the first action on a new account.

Full breakdown with real-world context →

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

✓

Enable MFA on the root account and create an IAM admin user for daily operations

Option B is correct because the root user has unrestricted access to the AWS account, and enabling Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) on the root account adds a critical second layer of security to prevent unauthorized access. Creating an IAM admin user for daily operations follows the principle of least privilege, ensuring that routine administrative tasks are performed using IAM roles or users with controlled permissions, rather than the highly privileged root user. This is a foundational security best practice recommended by AWS immediately after account creation.

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.

✗
Create IAM users for all employees immediately
Why it's wrong here
Creating IAM users is important but the first priority is securing the root account itself — once root is secured, appropriate IAM users and roles can be set up.
✓
Enable MFA on the root account and create an IAM admin user for daily operations
Why this is correct
Enabling MFA on root prevents unauthorized root access even if the password is compromised. Creating an IAM admin user allows daily operations without ever logging in as root.
Clue confirmation
The clue words "first", "immediately / without restart" in the question point toward this answer.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
✗
Create root access keys for programmatic access
Why it's wrong here
Creating root access keys is a security anti-pattern — these keys have full account access, no permission boundaries, and are difficult to scope. Use IAM roles instead.
✗
Enable AWS Config in all regions
Why it's wrong here
Config is important for compliance monitoring, but securing the root account takes priority as the first action on a new account.

Common exam traps

Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword

The trap here is that candidates may think creating IAM users for all employees (Option A) is the immediate priority, but the exam tests the understanding that securing the root account with MFA and creating a single IAM admin user for daily operations is the first and most critical security step, not mass user creation.

Detailed technical explanation

How to think about this question

The root account is the email address used to create the AWS account and has full, unrestricted access to all AWS resources and billing information. AWS recommends that you do not use the root user for everyday tasks, and instead create an IAM admin user with an IAM policy that grants administrative privileges (e.g., the AdministratorAccess managed policy). MFA for the root account can be implemented using a virtual MFA device (e.g., Google Authenticator) or a hardware MFA key (e.g., YubiKey), and once enabled, any action performed via the AWS Management Console or API as the root user will require the MFA code, significantly reducing the risk of account compromise.

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.

Related CLF-C02 practice-question pages

Use these pages to review the topic behind this question. This is how one missed question becomes focused revision.

Cloud Concepts practice questions

Practise CLF-C02 questions linked to Cloud Concepts.

Security and Compliance practice questions

Practise CLF-C02 questions linked to Security and Compliance.

Cloud Technology and Services practice questions

Practise CLF-C02 questions linked to Cloud Technology and Services.

Billing, Pricing, and Support practice questions

Practise CLF-C02 questions linked to Billing, Pricing, and Support.

AWS shared responsibility model practice questions

Practise CLF-C02 questions linked to AWS shared responsibility model.

AWS IAM practice questions

Practise CLF-C02 questions linked to AWS IAM.

AWS pricing practice questions

Practise CLF-C02 questions linked to AWS pricing.

AWS support plans practice questions

Practise CLF-C02 questions linked to AWS support plans.

AWS S3 practice questions

Practise CLF-C02 questions linked to AWS S3.

AWS EC2 practice questions

Practise CLF-C02 questions linked to AWS EC2.

Practice this exam

Start a free CLF-C02 practice session

Short sessions build daily habit. Longer sessions build exam-day stamina. Try a timed session to simulate real conditions.

10 questions 20 questions 30 questions 50 questions Timed 30

CLF-C02 practice-test guide →Study guide →Browse all practice tests

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: Enable MFA on the root account and create an IAM admin user for daily operations — Option B is correct because the root user has unrestricted access to the AWS account, and enabling Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) on the root account adds a critical second layer of security to prevent unauthorized access. Creating an IAM admin user for daily operations follows the principle of least privilege, ensuring that routine administrative tasks are performed using IAM roles or users with controlled permissions, rather than the highly privileged root user. This is a foundational security best practice recommended by AWS immediately after account creation.

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.

Are there clue words in this question I should notice?

Yes — watch for: "first", "immediately / without restart". Order matters here. You are being tested on which action comes before the others — not which action is generally useful.

What is the key concept behind this question?

Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.

About these practice questions

Courseiva creates original exam-style practice questions with explanations and wrong-answer analysis. It does not publish real exam questions, exam dumps, or protected exam content. Learn why practice questions differ from exam dumps →

How Courseiva writes practice questions · Editorial policy

Keep practising

Question Discussion

Share a tip, memory trick, or ask about the reasoning behind this question. Do not post real exam questions, leaked content, braindumps, or copyrighted exam material. Comments are moderated and may be removed without notice.

Loading comments…

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.