DEA-C01 Data Security and Governance Practice Question
A company needs to audit all API calls made in their AWS account, including actions performed by the root user. Which AWS service should be used?
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 CloudTrail
AWS CloudTrail records all API calls made in an AWS account, including root user actions, for auditing and compliance. Option A is incorrect because VPC Flow Logs capture network traffic metadata, not API calls. Option C is incorrect because Amazon CloudWatch Logs stores log data but does not natively capture API calls; it can ingest logs from other sources. Option D is incorrect because AWS Config tracks configuration changes to AWS resources, not API calls.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
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VPC Flow Logs
Why it's wrong here
VPC Flow Logs capture IP traffic metadata for network interfaces, not API activity, and they never record root-user management calls. It is tempting because flow logs support network troubleshooting and security analysis, but CloudTrail is the service that logs every API call, including root actions.
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AWS CloudTrail
Why this is correct
CloudTrail records API activity as management and data events, capturing the identity, source IP, timestamp and request details for every call, including root user actions. This satisfies the requirement to audit all API calls across the account.
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Amazon CloudWatch Logs
Why it's wrong here
CloudWatch Logs stores application, system and custom log streams; it does not natively capture account-wide API activity or root-user actions. It is tempting because many AWS services deliver their logs into CloudWatch, but auditing API calls requires CloudTrail, which records management and data events across the account.
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AWS Config
Why it's wrong here
AWS Config records resource configuration changes and evaluates compliance, not API activity; CloudTrail captures every API call including root user actions. Config is tempting because it audits resource state drift and answers "what changed", which suits compliance reporting on infrastructure, not who invoked which API.
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JA
Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
This DEA-C01 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 DEA-C01 exam.