- A
AWS CloudTrail
Why wrong: CloudTrail records AWS API calls (control plane events), not network traffic flows between resources.
- B
VPC Flow Logs
VPC Flow Logs capture network traffic metadata (IPs, ports, protocols, bytes, action) for all network interfaces in a VPC, essential for network forensics and anomaly detection.
- C
Amazon Inspector
Why wrong: Inspector assesses vulnerabilities and network exposure configuration — it doesn't capture real-time network traffic flow data.
- D
Amazon GuardDuty
Why wrong: GuardDuty analyzes VPC Flow Logs as one of its data sources for threat detection, but VPC Flow Logs itself is the service that captures and stores the flow data.
Question 141 of 1,024
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 needs to analyze VPC network traffic to detect anomalies and investigate security incidents. Which AWS service captures and stores network flow data for VPCs?
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
✓
VPC Flow Logs
VPC Flow Logs capture IP traffic information for network interfaces within a VPC, including metadata such as source/destination IPs, ports, protocols, and packet accept/reject decisions. This data is stored in Amazon CloudWatch Logs or Amazon S3, enabling security teams to analyze traffic patterns, detect anomalies, and investigate incidents. AWS CloudTrail, Amazon Inspector, and Amazon GuardDuty serve different purposes—auditing API calls, assessing vulnerabilities, and threat detection, respectively—but do not directly capture raw network flow data.
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 CloudTrail
Why it's wrong here
CloudTrail records AWS API calls (control plane events), not network traffic flows between resources.
- ✓
VPC Flow Logs
Why this is correct
VPC Flow Logs capture network traffic metadata (IPs, ports, protocols, bytes, action) for all network interfaces in a VPC, essential for network forensics and anomaly detection.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
- ✗
Amazon Inspector
Why it's wrong here
Inspector assesses vulnerabilities and network exposure configuration — it doesn't capture real-time network traffic flow data.
- ✗
Amazon GuardDuty
Why it's wrong here
GuardDuty analyzes VPC Flow Logs as one of its data sources for threat detection, but VPC Flow Logs itself is the service that captures and stores the flow data.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is that candidates confuse VPC Flow Logs (network traffic metadata) with AWS CloudTrail (API activity logs), often selecting CloudTrail because both involve logging, but CloudTrail does not capture network-level flow data.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
VPC Flow Logs use the AWS VPC flow log agent to collect metadata from the hypervisor layer for each network interface, capturing fields like version, account ID, interface ID, source/destination IP, source/destination port, protocol number (e.g., 6 for TCP, 17 for UDP), packets, bytes, start/end timestamps, and action (ACCEPT/REJECT). A common subtlety is that flow logs are not real-time; they are aggregated and published to CloudWatch Logs or S3 every 5–10 minutes, which can delay incident response. In a real-world scenario, a security team might query VPC Flow Logs in Amazon Athena to identify a spike in outbound traffic to an unknown IP on port 445 (SMB), indicating a potential data exfiltration attempt.
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.
Quick reference
AWS S3 Storage Class Comparison
| Storage Class | Min Duration | Retrieval | Use Case |
|---|---|---|---|
| S3 Standard | None | Immediate | Frequently accessed data |
| S3 Standard-IA | 30 days | Immediate | Infrequent access, rapid retrieval |
| S3 One Zone-IA | 30 days | Immediate | Non-critical infrequent data |
| S3 Intelligent-Tiering | None | Immediate–hours | Unknown or changing access patterns |
| S3 Glacier Instant | 90 days | Milliseconds | Archive with instant retrieval |
| S3 Glacier Flexible | 90 days | Minutes–hours | Archive, flexible retrieval |
| S3 Glacier Deep Archive | 180 days | Hours | Long-term compliance archive |
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: VPC Flow Logs — VPC Flow Logs capture IP traffic information for network interfaces within a VPC, including metadata such as source/destination IPs, ports, protocols, and packet accept/reject decisions. This data is stored in Amazon CloudWatch Logs or Amazon S3, enabling security teams to analyze traffic patterns, detect anomalies, and investigate incidents. AWS CloudTrail, Amazon Inspector, and Amazon GuardDuty serve different purposes—auditing API calls, assessing vulnerabilities, and threat detection, respectively—but do not directly capture raw network flow data.
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
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