Question 343 of 418
DOP-C02 Incident and Event Response Practice Question
During a security incident, a DevOps engineer discovers that an EC2 instance has been compromised. The instance has an IAM role with permissions to access S3 and DynamoDB. Which THREE immediate actions should the engineer take to contain the incident?
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
✓
Stop the EC2 instance
To contain the incident, immediate actions should focus on isolating the instance and revoking its permissions to prevent further damage. Stopping the instance (C) preserves its state for later forensics while halting current malicious activity. Updating the security group (D) blocks all network traffic to and from the instance, cutting off communication. Removing the IAM role (E) revokes the instance's access to S3 and DynamoDB, preventing data exfiltration or unauthorized actions. Terminating the instance (A) is not recommended because it destroys volatile data and evidence, hindering investigation. Creating an AMI (B) is a forensic step that should be done after containment; it does not immediately stop the compromise.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Terminate the instance immediately
Why it's wrong here
Terminating destroys forensic evidence.
- ✗
Create an AMI of the instance for forensic analysis
Why it's wrong here
Creating an AMI may snapshot the compromise; better to take a snapshot of the root volume instead.
- ✓
Stop the EC2 instance
Why this is correct
Stopping the instance halts any malicious processes.
- ✓
Update the security group to deny all inbound and outbound traffic
Why this is correct
Isolating the instance prevents further network activity.
- ✓
Remove the IAM role from the instance
Why this is correct
Detaching the role revokes permissions to other resources.
Quick reference
AWS S3 Storage Class Comparison
| Storage Class | Min Duration | Retrieval | Use Case |
|---|---|---|---|
| S3 Standard | None | Immediate | Frequently accessed data |
| S3 Standard-IA | 30 days | Immediate | Infrequent access, rapid retrieval |
| S3 One Zone-IA | 30 days | Immediate | Non-critical infrequent data |
| S3 Intelligent-Tiering | None | Immediate–hours | Unknown or changing access patterns |
| S3 Glacier Instant | 90 days | Milliseconds | Archive with instant retrieval |
| S3 Glacier Flexible | 90 days | Minutes–hours | Archive, flexible retrieval |
| S3 Glacier Deep Archive | 180 days | Hours | Long-term compliance archive |
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Last reviewed: Jun 20, 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.
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