This DOP-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 company runs a critical application on EC2 instances behind an Application Load Balancer (ALB). They want to protect against SQL injection and cross-site scripting attacks. Which AWS service should be integrated with the ALB?
AWS Network Firewall
Why wrong: Network Firewall provides network-layer filtering, not application-layer inspection.
AWS WAF
AWS WAF can be associated with an ALB to filter SQL injection and XSS attacks.
AWS Shield Advanced
Why wrong: Shield Advanced provides DDoS protection, not application-layer filtering.
Amazon GuardDuty
Why wrong: GuardDuty is a threat detection service, not a web application firewall.
Answer choices
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
AWS WAF
AWS WAF is a web application firewall that integrates directly with Application Load Balancers to inspect HTTP/HTTPS traffic. It uses managed rule groups to block common attack patterns like SQL injection (e.g., detecting malicious SQL keywords in query strings) and cross-site scripting (e.g., identifying script tags in user input). This makes it the correct choice for protecting web applications at Layer 7.
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.
AWS Network Firewall
Why it's wrong here
Network Firewall provides network-layer filtering, not application-layer inspection.
AWS WAF
Why this is correct
AWS WAF can be associated with an ALB to filter SQL injection and XSS attacks.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
AWS Shield Advanced
Why it's wrong here
Shield Advanced provides DDoS protection, not application-layer filtering.
Amazon GuardDuty
Why it's wrong here
GuardDuty is a threat detection service, not a web application firewall.
Common exam traps
The trap here is that candidates confuse AWS WAF (Layer 7 application firewall) with AWS Network Firewall (Layer 3/4 stateful firewall) or AWS Shield (DDoS protection), not realizing that only WAF provides the specific rule sets needed for SQL injection and XSS mitigation.
Detailed technical explanation
AWS WAF uses web ACLs with rules that evaluate conditions like regex patterns, size constraints, or SQL injection match sets against incoming requests. When integrated with an ALB, WAF processes traffic before it reaches the backend EC2 instances, allowing it to block malicious requests at the edge. A subtle behavior is that WAF rules are evaluated in the order defined in the web ACL, and default actions (allow or block) apply to requests that don't match any rule.
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
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
Security and Compliance — study guide chapter
Learn the concepts, then practise the questions
Security and Compliance practice questions
Targeted practice on this topic area only
All DOP-C02 questions
1,740 questions across all exam domains
AWS Certified DevOps Engineer Professional DOP-C02 study guide
Full concept coverage aligned to exam objectives
DOP-C02 practice test guide
How to use practice tests most effectively before exam day
Related practice questions
Use these pages to review the topic behind this question. This is how one missed question becomes focused revision.
Practise DOP-C02 questions linked to Configuration Management and IaC.
Practise DOP-C02 questions linked to Resilient Cloud Solutions.
Practise DOP-C02 questions linked to Monitoring and Logging.
Practise DOP-C02 questions linked to Incident and Event Response.
Practise DOP-C02 questions linked to Security and Compliance.
Practise DOP-C02 questions linked to SDLC Automation.
Practise DOP-C02 questions linked to DOP-C02 fundamentals.
Practise DOP-C02 questions linked to DOP-C02 scenario.
Practise DOP-C02 questions linked to DOP-C02 troubleshooting.
Practice this exam
Short sessions build daily habit. Longer sessions build exam-day stamina. Try a timed session to simulate real conditions.
FAQ
Security and Compliance — This question tests Security and Compliance — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
The correct answer is: AWS WAF — AWS WAF is a web application firewall that integrates directly with Application Load Balancers to inspect HTTP/HTTPS traffic. It uses managed rule groups to block common attack patterns like SQL injection (e.g., detecting malicious SQL keywords in query strings) and cross-site scripting (e.g., identifying script tags in user input). This makes it the correct choice for protecting web applications at Layer 7.
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.
About these practice questions
Courseiva creates original exam-style practice questions with explanations and wrong-answer analysis. It does not publish real exam questions, exam dumps, or protected exam content. Learn why practice questions differ from exam dumps →
Last reviewed: Jun 24, 2026
This DOP-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 DOP-C02 exam.
Question Discussion
Share a tip, memory trick, or ask about the reasoning behind this question. Do not post real exam questions, leaked content, braindumps, or copyrighted exam material. Comments are moderated and may be removed without notice.
Sign in to join the discussion.