- A
Amazon GuardDuty
Why wrong: GuardDuty detects active security threats using log data. It does not analyse resource policies to identify external access grants.
- B
AWS Config
Why wrong: Config tracks resource configuration changes and evaluates compliance against rules. While Config rules can check some access settings, IAM Access Analyzer specifically analyses cross-account and public access in resource policies.
- C
AWS IAM Access Analyzer
IAM Access Analyzer uses automated reasoning to analyse resource-based policies and generate findings when resources are accessible from outside the account or organisation. It covers S3 buckets, IAM roles, KMS keys, SQS queues, Lambda functions, and Secrets Manager secrets.
- D
Amazon Macie
Why wrong: Macie identifies sensitive data (PII) in S3 buckets. It does not analyse IAM and resource policies for external access grants.
Quick Answer
The answer is AWS IAM Access Analyzer. This service is correct because it continuously analyzes resource-based policies—such as S3 bucket policies, IAM role trust policies, and KMS key policies—to identify resources shared externally with other AWS accounts or the public internet, generating findings for any policy that grants access outside your account’s security boundary. On the AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner CLF-C02 exam, this question tests your understanding of automated security analysis tools; a common trap is confusing IAM Access Analyzer with AWS Trusted Advisor or AWS Config, which focus on cost optimization or compliance rules rather than specific cross-account and public access detection. Remember the memory tip: “Access Analyzer analyzes access” — it’s the dedicated tool for spotting unintended external sharing, not just general security checks.
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 security team wants to automatically identify S3 buckets, IAM roles, and other resources in their AWS account that have policies granting access to external AWS accounts or the public internet — including findings they may not be aware of. Which AWS service performs this analysis?
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 IAM Access Analyzer
AWS IAM Access Analyzer is the correct service because it is specifically designed to analyze resource-based policies (such as S3 bucket policies, IAM role trust policies, and KMS key policies) and identify resources that are shared with external AWS accounts or publicly accessible. It generates findings for any policy that grants access to a principal outside of your AWS account, including the public internet, even for resources you may not be aware of. This directly matches the security team's requirement to automatically identify such exposures.
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 it's wrong here
GuardDuty detects active security threats using log data. It does not analyse resource policies to identify external access grants.
- ✗
AWS Config
Why it's wrong here
Config tracks resource configuration changes and evaluates compliance against rules. While Config rules can check some access settings, IAM Access Analyzer specifically analyses cross-account and public access in resource policies.
- ✓
AWS IAM Access Analyzer
Why this is correct
IAM Access Analyzer uses automated reasoning to analyse resource-based policies and generate findings when resources are accessible from outside the account or organisation. It covers S3 buckets, IAM roles, KMS keys, SQS queues, Lambda functions, and Secrets Manager secrets.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
- ✗
Amazon Macie
Why it's wrong here
Macie identifies sensitive data (PII) in S3 buckets. It does not analyse IAM and resource policies for external access grants.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is that candidates often confuse IAM Access Analyzer with Amazon GuardDuty, assuming GuardDuty's threat detection includes policy analysis, but GuardDuty focuses on operational threats (e.g., compromised credentials) rather than static policy evaluation for external access.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
IAM Access Analyzer uses a zone of trust model where you define a trust boundary (e.g., your AWS account or an AWS Organization), and it then analyzes all resource-based policies within that boundary to detect any grant of access to a principal outside the boundary. The analysis is performed using automated reasoning (Zelkova) to evaluate policy semantics, not just syntax, so it can detect indirect access paths such as those created by wildcard principals or conditions that allow public access. In a real-world scenario, a security team might discover an S3 bucket policy that inadvertently grants 's3:GetObject' to 'Principal: *' via a misconfigured bucket ACL, which IAM Access Analyzer would flag as a public access finding.
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 media company stores terabytes of video archives that are accessed once a year for audit purposes. Moving these objects to a cold storage tier (Azure Archive, S3 Glacier, or Google Nearline) costs a fraction of hot storage. Questions like this test whether you understand storage tiers, access frequency tradeoffs, and retrieval latency requirements.
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 IAM Access Analyzer — AWS IAM Access Analyzer is the correct service because it is specifically designed to analyze resource-based policies (such as S3 bucket policies, IAM role trust policies, and KMS key policies) and identify resources that are shared with external AWS accounts or publicly accessible. It generates findings for any policy that grants access to a principal outside of your AWS account, including the public internet, even for resources you may not be aware of. This directly matches the security team's requirement to automatically identify such exposures.
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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