The answer is to apply a Service Control Policy that denies the cloudformation:DeleteStack action. This is the most effective solution because an SCP operates at the AWS Organizations account level, creating a hard boundary that prevents any user or role—including full administrators—from deleting stacks, regardless of their IAM permissions. On the AWS Certified DevOps Engineer Professional DOP-C02 exam, this question tests your understanding of defense-in-depth and the distinction between SCPs, IAM policies, and stack-level features like termination protection. A common trap is choosing termination protection, but that can be disabled by anyone with the required IAM permissions, whereas an SCP cannot be overridden within the affected account. Remember the memory tip: SCPs are the “ultimate deny”—they block actions at the organization level, making them ideal for preventing accidental stack deletions across an entire AWS account.
DOP-C02 Configuration Management and IaC Practice Question
This DOP-C02 practice question tests your understanding of configuration management and iac. 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 startup uses AWS CloudFormation to manage its infrastructure. The team stores stack templates in an S3 bucket and creates stacks using the AWS CLI. Recently, a developer accidentally deleted a CloudFormation stack, causing a production outage. The team wants to prevent accidental stack deletions while allowing authorized users to delete stacks after approval. What is the MOST effective solution?
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Apply a Service Control Policy that denies the cloudformation:DeleteStack action.
Using an SCP to deny DeleteStack actions (B) prevents accidental deletion at the account level. Option A (manual) is not automated; C (termination protection) can be disabled; D (IAM policy only) can be bypassed by users with full admin.
Key principle: NAT direction and interface roles matter as much as the IP address mapping. Inside/outside designation controls which traffic is translated.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
✗
Enable termination protection on the stack.
Why it's wrong here
Termination protection can be disabled by users with sufficient permissions.
✗
Implement a manual review process for all stack deletion requests.
Why it's wrong here
Manual process is slow and depends on human vigilance.
✓
Apply a Service Control Policy that denies the cloudformation:DeleteStack action.
Why this is correct
SCPs can prevent deletion across the entire account, with exceptions for authorized roles via permissions boundaries.
Related concept
Static NAT maps one inside address to one outside address.
✗
Use an IAM policy that denies DeleteStack for all users.
Why it's wrong here
An IAM policy is not effective against users with administrative privileges.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: NAT rules depend on direction and matching traffic
NAT is not only about the public address. The inside/outside interface roles and the ACL or rule that matches traffic are just as important.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
NAT questions usually test address translation, overload/PAT behaviour, static mappings and whether the right traffic is being translated. Read the interface direction and address terms carefully.
KKey Concepts to Remember
Static NAT maps one inside address to one outside address.
PAT allows many inside hosts to share one public address using ports.
Inside local and inside global describe the private and translated addresses.
NAT ACLs identify traffic for translation, not always security filtering.
TExam Day Tips
→Identify inside and outside interfaces first.
→Check whether the scenario needs static NAT, dynamic NAT or PAT.
→Do not confuse NAT matching ACLs with normal packet-filtering intent.
Key takeaway
NAT direction and interface roles matter as much as the IP address mapping. Inside/outside designation controls which traffic is translated.
Real-world example
How this comes up in practice
A media company stores terabytes of video archives that are accessed once a year for audit purposes. Moving these objects to a cold storage tier (Azure Archive, S3 Glacier, or Google Nearline) costs a fraction of hot storage. Questions like this test whether you understand storage tiers, access frequency tradeoffs, and retrieval latency requirements.
What to study next
Got this wrong? Here's your next step.
Review the four NAT address types (inside local, inside global, outside local, outside global), PAT port overload, and static vs dynamic NAT use cases. Then practise related DOP-C02 NAT questions on configuration and troubleshooting.
Configuration Management and IaC — This question tests Configuration Management and IaC — Static NAT maps one inside address to one outside address..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Apply a Service Control Policy that denies the cloudformation:DeleteStack action. — Using an SCP to deny DeleteStack actions (B) prevents accidental deletion at the account level. Option A (manual) is not automated; C (termination protection) can be disabled; D (IAM policy only) can be bypassed by users with full admin.
What should I do if I get this DOP-C02 question wrong?
Review the four NAT address types (inside local, inside global, outside local, outside global), PAT port overload, and static vs dynamic NAT use cases. Then practise related DOP-C02 NAT questions on configuration and troubleshooting.
What is the key concept behind this question?
Static NAT maps one inside address to one outside address.
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Question Discussion
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