The answer is Amazon CloudWatch Events (EventBridge), AWS CloudTrail, and Amazon CloudWatch Logs. CloudTrail captures the API call for IAM user creation as an event, which is then sent to CloudWatch Logs for storage and analysis. CloudWatch Events (EventBridge) uses a rule to match this specific API call and trigger an alert, such as sending a notification via SNS or invoking a Lambda function. On the AWS Certified Data Engineer Associate DEA-C01 exam, this question tests your understanding of the monitoring triad: logging, event detection, and alerting. A common trap is selecting AWS Config, which monitors configuration compliance rather than real-time API activity, or SNS alone, which is a notification channel but not a monitoring service. To remember this, think of the three C’s: CloudTrail captures, CloudWatch Logs collects, and CloudWatch Events (EventBridge) alerts.
DEA-C01 Data Security and Governance Practice Question
This DEA-C01 practice question tests your understanding of data security and governance. 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. 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 company wants to monitor and alert on any IAM user creation in their AWS account. Which THREE services should be used together to achieve this? (Choose three.)
Why wrong: SNS is a notification service, but EventBridge can directly use SNS for alerts; however, the question asks for three services, and including SNS would replace one of the others. The best three are CloudTrail, CloudWatch Logs, and EventBridge.
B
AWS CloudTrail
Records API calls including IAM user creation.
C
Amazon CloudWatch Logs
Stores CloudTrail logs for monitoring.
D
Amazon CloudWatch Events (EventBridge)
Creates rules to detect CreateUser API calls and trigger alerts.
E
AWS Config
Why wrong: Tracks resource configuration changes, not API calls.
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 captures IAM user creation API calls (option A). Amazon CloudWatch Logs can be the target for CloudTrail logs (option B). Amazon CloudWatch Events (EventBridge) can create a rule to trigger an alert (option C). Option D is for configuration compliance, not API monitoring. Option E is for sending notifications, but the question asks for monitoring and alerting, and EventBridge can directly trigger SNS or Lambda.
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.
✗
Amazon Simple Notification Service (SNS)
Why it's wrong here
SNS is a notification service, but EventBridge can directly use SNS for alerts; however, the question asks for three services, and including SNS would replace one of the others. The best three are CloudTrail, CloudWatch Logs, and EventBridge.
✓
AWS CloudTrail
Why this is correct
Records API calls including IAM user creation.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
✓
Amazon CloudWatch Logs
Why this is correct
Stores CloudTrail logs for monitoring.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
✓
Amazon CloudWatch Events (EventBridge)
Why this is correct
Creates rules to detect CreateUser API calls and trigger alerts.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
✗
AWS Config
Why it's wrong here
Tracks resource configuration changes, not API calls.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
Many certification questions include familiar terms but test a specific constraint. Read the exact wording before choosing an answer that is generally true but wrong for this case.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
This question should be treated as a scenario, not a definition check. Identify the problem, the constraint and the best action. Then compare each option against those facts.
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.
Use explanations to understand the rule behind the answer.
TExam Day Tips
→Underline the problem statement mentally.
→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 company's IT admin needs to give a contractor read-only access to production logs without sharing account credentials. Using role-based access control (RBAC) and temporary scoped permissions — not a permanent shared password — is the correct pattern. Questions like this test whether you can apply least-privilege access across cloud identity services.
What to study next
Got this wrong? Here's your next step.
Identify which DEA-C01 exam domain this question belongs to, then review the specific concept being tested. Practise related questions in that domain and focus on understanding why each wrong answer is tempting — not just why the correct answer is right.
Data Security and Governance — This question tests Data Security and Governance — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: AWS CloudTrail — AWS CloudTrail captures IAM user creation API calls (option A). Amazon CloudWatch Logs can be the target for CloudTrail logs (option B). Amazon CloudWatch Events (EventBridge) can create a rule to trigger an alert (option C). Option D is for configuration compliance, not API monitoring. Option E is for sending notifications, but the question asks for monitoring and alerting, and EventBridge can directly trigger SNS or Lambda.
What should I do if I get this DEA-C01 question wrong?
Identify which DEA-C01 exam domain this question belongs to, then review the specific concept being tested. Practise related questions in that domain and focus on understanding why each wrong answer is tempting — not just why the correct answer is right.
What is the key concept behind this question?
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
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Question Discussion
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