A company is migrating an on-premises application to AWS. The application will run on Amazon EC2 instances and use an Amazon RDS for MySQL database. The security team needs to understand which security controls remain the company's responsibility after the migration. Under the AWS Shared Responsibility Model, which of the following is the customer's responsibility?
Answer choices
Why each option matters
Good practice is not just finding the correct option. The wrong answers often show the exact trap the exam wants you to fall into.
Distractor review
Patching the MySQL database engine for the Amazon RDS instance.
Incorrect. Amazon RDS is a managed service; AWS is responsible for patching the database engine. The customer only manages data and access.
Best answer
Patching the guest operating system on the Amazon EC2 instances.
Correct. The customer is responsible for the security of the guest OS on EC2 instances, including applying patches and updates. AWS manages the hypervisor and physical infrastructure.
Distractor review
Providing physical security at the AWS data center facilities.
Incorrect. Physical security of AWS data centers is entirely the responsibility of AWS. Customers do not have physical access to data centers.
Distractor review
Replacing failed network switches in the AWS global network.
Incorrect. AWS manages and replaces all physical network hardware as part of its responsibility for the security of the cloud.
Common exam trap
Common exam trap: NAT rules depend on direction and matching traffic
NAT is not only about the public address. The inside/outside interface roles and the ACL or rule that matches traffic are just as important.
Technical deep dive
How to think about this question
NAT questions usually test address translation, overload/PAT behaviour, static mappings and whether the right traffic is being translated. Read the interface direction and address terms carefully.
KKey Concepts to Remember
- Static NAT maps one inside address to one outside address.
- PAT allows many inside hosts to share one public address using ports.
- Inside local and inside global describe the private and translated addresses.
- NAT ACLs identify traffic for translation, not always security filtering.
TExam Day Tips
- Identify inside and outside interfaces first.
- Check whether the scenario needs static NAT, dynamic NAT or PAT.
- Do not confuse NAT matching ACLs with normal packet-filtering intent.
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More questions from this exam
Keep practising from the same exam bank, or move into a focused topic page if this question exposed a weak area.
Question 1
A developer needs to launch a test server for a new application prototype. The developer logs into the AWS Management Console, selects an Amazon EC2 instance type, configures the security group, and starts the instance. The instance is running within two minutes, and the developer did not need to submit a formal request to the company's IT procurement team or wait for approval from a cloud administrator. Which essential characteristic of cloud computing does this scenario best demonstrate?
Question 2
A solutions architect is planning a new web application on AWS. The workload will include 3 Amazon EC2 instances (t3.medium) running 24/7, an Application Load Balancer, and an Amazon RDS for MySQL db.t3.small database. The architect needs to estimate the monthly cost for the first year, considering different purchasing options (On-Demand, 1-year All Upfront Reserved Instance, and Compute Savings Plan). Which AWS tool should the architect use to create this estimate?
Question 3
A company's development team frequently needs temporary test environments. A developer can log into the AWS Management Console, select an Amazon EC2 instance type, configure storage, and launch the instance within minutes without any interaction with the IT infrastructure team. This capability is an example of which essential characteristic of cloud computing?
Question 4
A company's finance team needs to analyze AWS spending in detail. They require a report that includes hourly cost data for each AWS service, each individual resource (e.g., a specific EC2 instance), and any cost allocation tags applied. The team plans to export this data to an Amazon S3 bucket and then import it into a custom business intelligence (BI) analytics dashboard. Which AWS tool should the finance team use to generate this level of detailed cost data?
Question 5
A company uses AWS for its development environment. The finance team wants to set a monthly budget of $10,000. They want to receive an email notification when the actual costs reach 80% of the budget ($8,000) and again when costs exceed the budget. The team needs a managed AWS service that can automatically send these alerts without requiring custom code or third-party tools. Which AWS service should the team use?
Question 6
A company uses AWS Organizations to manage multiple accounts. The security team needs to enforce a policy that restricts SSH access (port 22) from the internet (0.0.0.0/0) in all VPCs across all accounts. The team wants to centrally define the allowed rules and automatically apply them to newly created VPCs and security groups, while also automatically remediating any existing non-compliant security groups. Which AWS service should the team use?
FAQ
Questions learners often ask
What does this CLF-C02 question test?
Static NAT maps one inside address to one outside address.
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Patching the guest operating system on the Amazon EC2 instances. — Under the AWS Shared Responsibility Model, security and compliance is a shared responsibility between AWS and the customer. AWS is responsible for the security of the cloud (e.g., physical data centers, hardware, software that powers the services). The customer is responsible for security in the cloud (e.g., guest OS, application, data). For Amazon EC2, the customer is responsible for managing the guest operating system (including patching) and any application software. For Amazon RDS, AWS manages the underlying database engine patching and maintenance, but the customer is responsible for database configuration, data encryption, and access management. Physical security, network infrastructure, and hardware replacement are always the responsibility of AWS.
What should I do if I get this CLF-C02 question wrong?
Then try more questions from the same exam bank and focus on understanding why the wrong options are tempting.
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