- A
AWS Identity and Access Management (IAM) policy
Why wrong: IAM policies are attached to IAM users, groups, or roles within a single account. They cannot restrict the root user of that account, and they do not apply across multiple accounts in an organization. Therefore, this option does not meet the requirement for central enforcement across all member accounts.
- B
AWS Service Control Policy (SCP)
SCPs are a feature of AWS Organizations that allow you to centrally manage permissions for all accounts in the organization. They can deny specific actions (like disabling S3 Block Public Access) for all users, including the root user, in every member account. SCPs are automatically applied to all existing and future accounts in the organizational unit to which they are attached, meeting all the requirements.
- C
AWS Config rule with automatic remediation
Why wrong: AWS Config can evaluate resource configurations against rules and trigger automatic remediation actions (e.g., re-enabling Block Public Access). However, it operates by detecting noncompliant resources after the action has occurred, not by preventing the action in the first place. It also cannot prevent the root user from taking an action and is not a preventive control.
- D
AWS Trusted Advisor
Why wrong: AWS Trusted Advisor provides best-practice checks and recommendations, including checks for S3 buckets with public access. However, it only reports on the current state; it does not enforce policies or prevent users from changing settings. It is an advisory tool, not a preventive control mechanism.
Quick Answer
The answer is AWS Service Control Policy (SCP). An SCP is the correct choice because it centrally manages permissions across all accounts in AWS Organizations, allowing you to explicitly deny the s3:PutBucketPublicAccessBlock action to prevent disabling S3 Block Public Access settings. This policy applies to every principal, including the root user, in any member account and is automatically inherited by new accounts added to the organization, ensuring consistent enforcement without per-account configuration. On the AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner CLF-C02 exam, this tests your understanding of governance at the organization level versus IAM policies, which cannot restrict the root user or be applied centrally across accounts. A common trap is choosing IAM policies or S3 bucket policies, but remember that only SCPs can block the root user and scale across an entire organization. Memory tip: SCP stands for “Service Control Policy”—think “Supreme Control Policy” because it overrides all other permissions in member accounts.
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. A key principle to apply: sCPs set maximum permissions for accounts in an AWS Organization.. 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 multiple AWS accounts using AWS Organizations. The security team needs to enforce a policy that prevents any user, including the root user, in any member account from disabling the 'Block Public Access' setting on Amazon S3 buckets. The policy must be centrally managed and automatically applied to all existing and future member accounts. Which AWS feature should the security 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 Service Control Policy (SCP)
AWS Service Control Policies (SCPs) are the correct choice because they allow central management of permissions across all accounts in an AWS Organization. SCPs can explicitly deny actions like s3:PutBucketPublicAccessBlock at the root, OU, or account level, and they apply to all principals, including the root user, in member accounts. SCPs are automatically inherited by new accounts added to the organization, ensuring consistent enforcement without per-account configuration.
Key principle: SCPs set maximum permissions for accounts in an AWS Organization.
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 Identity and Access Management (IAM) policy
Why it's wrong here
IAM policies are attached to IAM users, groups, or roles within a single account. They cannot restrict the root user of that account, and they do not apply across multiple accounts in an organization. Therefore, this option does not meet the requirement for central enforcement across all member accounts.
- ✓
AWS Service Control Policy (SCP)
Why this is correct
SCPs are a feature of AWS Organizations that allow you to centrally manage permissions for all accounts in the organization. They can deny specific actions (like disabling S3 Block Public Access) for all users, including the root user, in every member account. SCPs are automatically applied to all existing and future accounts in the organizational unit to which they are attached, meeting all the requirements.
Related concept
SCPs set maximum permissions for accounts in an AWS Organization.
- ✗
AWS Config rule with automatic remediation
Why it's wrong here
AWS Config can evaluate resource configurations against rules and trigger automatic remediation actions (e.g., re-enabling Block Public Access). However, it operates by detecting noncompliant resources after the action has occurred, not by preventing the action in the first place. It also cannot prevent the root user from taking an action and is not a preventive control.
- ✗
AWS Trusted Advisor
Why it's wrong here
AWS Trusted Advisor provides best-practice checks and recommendations, including checks for S3 buckets with public access. However, it only reports on the current state; it does not enforce policies or prevent users from changing settings. It is an advisory tool, not a preventive control mechanism.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is that candidates often confuse AWS Config with a preventive control, but Config is detective and reactive, not preventive, and cannot block the root user or centrally enforce policies across accounts like an SCP can.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
SCPs use an allow list or deny list syntax evaluated before IAM and resource-based policies; a deny in an SCP overrides any allow in IAM. The specific action to block is s3:PutBucketPublicAccessBlock, and SCPs can target the root user because they operate at the AWS Organizations level, not within an account's IAM. In a real-world scenario, an SCP can be applied to a production OU to enforce that no account, even with full admin access, can disable S3 Block Public Access, which is critical for preventing data leaks.
KKey Concepts to Remember
- SCPs set maximum permissions for accounts in an AWS Organization.
- SCPs apply to all users and roles, including the root user.
- A 'Deny' in an SCP overrides any 'Allow' in an IAM policy.
- SCPs are centrally managed and automatically apply to new accounts in an OU.
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
SCPs set maximum permissions for accounts in an AWS Organization.
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.
Review sCPs set maximum permissions for accounts in an AWS Organization., then practise related CLF-C02 questions on the same topic to reinforce the concept.
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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 — SCPs set maximum permissions for accounts in an AWS Organization..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: AWS Service Control Policy (SCP) — AWS Service Control Policies (SCPs) are the correct choice because they allow central management of permissions across all accounts in an AWS Organization. SCPs can explicitly deny actions like s3:PutBucketPublicAccessBlock at the root, OU, or account level, and they apply to all principals, including the root user, in member accounts. SCPs are automatically inherited by new accounts added to the organization, ensuring consistent enforcement without per-account configuration.
What should I do if I get this CLF-C02 question wrong?
Review sCPs set maximum permissions for accounts in an AWS Organization., then practise related CLF-C02 questions on the same topic to reinforce the concept.
What is the key concept behind this question?
SCPs set maximum permissions for accounts in an AWS Organization.
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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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