Quick Answer
The correct answer includes Amazon CloudWatch Logs, AWS Config, and AWS CloudTrail, as these three services collectively address PCI DSS logging and monitoring requirements by capturing, tracking, and auditing security events across your AWS environment. CloudWatch Logs centralizes log collection from resources like EC2 and Lambda, enabling real-time monitoring and metric-based alarms to detect anomalies, while AWS Config records configuration changes and AWS CloudTrail logs API activity—both essential for the audit trails mandated by PCI DSS Requirement 10. On the DVA-C02 exam, this question tests your ability to distinguish between logging services that provide operational data versus those that deliver compliance-focused audit records; a common trap is selecting Amazon GuardDuty or AWS Security Hub, which are threat detection and response services rather than core logging and monitoring services. Remember the mnemonic “Triple C” for compliance: CloudWatch Logs, CloudTrail, and Config.
This DVA-C02 practice question tests your understanding of security. 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 developer is designing a system that must meet PCI DSS compliance. Which THREE AWS services can help with logging and monitoring security events?
Amazon CloudWatch Logs
CloudWatch Logs collects and stores log files from various sources.
Amazon VPC Flow Logs
Why wrong: Flow Logs capture network traffic information, not security events.
AWS CloudTrail
CloudTrail records API calls for auditing.
AWS Key Management Service (KMS)
Why wrong: KMS manages encryption keys, not logging.
AWS Config
Config records configuration changes and can evaluate compliance.
Answer choices
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
Amazon CloudWatch Logs
Amazon CloudWatch Logs is correct because it provides a centralized service for collecting, monitoring, and storing log data from various AWS resources and applications. For PCI DSS compliance, CloudWatch Logs can ingest security-related logs (e.g., from EC2, Lambda, or on-premises servers) and enable real-time monitoring, metric filters, and alarms to detect and respond to security events. It also supports log retention policies and encryption at rest using AWS KMS, which are required for audit trails under PCI DSS Requirement 10.
Key principle: Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Answer analysis
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
Amazon CloudWatch Logs
Why this is correct
CloudWatch Logs collects and stores log files from various sources.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
Amazon VPC Flow Logs
Why it's wrong here
Flow Logs capture network traffic information, not security events.
AWS CloudTrail
Why this is correct
CloudTrail records API calls for auditing.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
AWS Key Management Service (KMS)
Why it's wrong here
KMS manages encryption keys, not logging.
AWS Config
Why this is correct
Config records configuration changes and can evaluate compliance.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
Common exam traps
The trap here is that candidates often confuse VPC Flow Logs (network metadata) with security event logging, or mistakenly think KMS is a logging service because it is used for encryption, but neither generates or monitors security events as required by PCI DSS.
Detailed technical explanation
Under the hood, CloudWatch Logs uses log groups and log streams to organize ingested data, with support for real-time subscription filters that can forward logs to Amazon Elasticsearch Service or Lambda for advanced analysis. For PCI DSS, CloudWatch Logs can integrate with AWS CloudTrail to monitor API activity and with AWS Config to track resource configuration changes, forming a complete audit trail. A subtle behavior is that CloudWatch Logs does not automatically capture VPC Flow Logs or AWS Config data unless explicitly configured via subscriptions or metric filters.
Key takeaway
Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Real-world example
A healthcare organisation deploys an application with a public-facing web tier and a private database tier. The database subnet has no public IP and only accepts connections from the web tier's security group. Questions like this test whether you can design cloud network isolation using VNets/VPCs, subnets, and security group rules.
What to study next
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FAQ
Security — This question tests Security — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
The correct answer is: Amazon CloudWatch Logs — Amazon CloudWatch Logs is correct because it provides a centralized service for collecting, monitoring, and storing log data from various AWS resources and applications. For PCI DSS compliance, CloudWatch Logs can ingest security-related logs (e.g., from EC2, Lambda, or on-premises servers) and enable real-time monitoring, metric filters, and alarms to detect and respond to security events. It also supports log retention policies and encryption at rest using AWS KMS, which are required for audit trails under PCI DSS Requirement 10.
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
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Last reviewed: Jun 24, 2026
This DVA-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 DVA-C02 exam.
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