DEA-C01 Data Security and Governance Practice Question
A company wants to audit all changes to IAM policies in their AWS account. Which combination of services should be used to achieve this?
⚠ Common exam trap
The trap is confusing AWS Config with CloudTrail. Config is for configuration history, not API auditing. Candidates might also think CloudWatch Logs alone can capture API calls without CloudTrail.
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 and Amazon CloudWatch Logs
AWS CloudTrail records all API calls, including IAM policy changes, and can deliver logs to Amazon CloudWatch Logs for monitoring and alerting. This combination provides a comprehensive audit trail and real-time analysis capability.
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 Config and Amazon SNS
Why it's wrong here
AWS Config records resource configuration changes and SNS can notify, but Config tracks resource state rather than IAM API calls. It is tempting because Config audits compliance, yet IAM policy changes are API events captured by CloudTrail, which Config does not substitute for.
- ✓
AWS CloudTrail and Amazon CloudWatch Logs
Why this is correct
AWS CloudTrail records every IAM policy change as a management event, capturing the API caller, timestamp and request parameters. Streaming those trails into Amazon CloudWatch Logs satisfies the audit requirement, enabling metric filters and alarms on specific `PutPolicy` or `CreatePolicy` calls for continuous monitoring.
- ✗
Amazon CloudWatch Logs and Amazon SNS
Why it's wrong here
CloudWatch Logs stores and queries log data, and SNS delivers notifications, but neither records IAM API activity by itself. It is tempting because both handle operational telemetry, yet without CloudTrail there is no source of IAM policy change events to audit.
- ✗
AWS CloudTrail and Amazon DynamoDB
Why it's wrong here
CloudTrail does capture IAM policy change events, but DynamoDB is a NoSQL database, not an audit or query service for logs. It is tempting because DynamoDB stores data cheaply, yet the scenario needs CloudTrail logs queried through CloudWatch Logs or Athena.
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JA
Written and reviewed by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
Last reviewed September 2026 · checked against the official Amazon Web Services exam blueprint
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.