The answer is to create a service control policy (SCP) in the root organizational unit that denies the s3:PutBucketPublicAccessBlock action. This is correct because SCPs act as central guardrails in AWS Organizations, setting maximum permissions that cannot be overridden by any IAM policy within an account, even for full administrators. By denying the specific action that disables the bucket-level public access block, you prevent any user or role from making an S3 bucket publicly readable, regardless of their individual permissions. On the AWS Certified DevOps Engineer Professional DOP-C02 exam, this scenario tests your understanding of SCPs as a preventive control versus detective controls like AWS Config rules, which only alert after a violation. A common trap is choosing to block s3:PutBucketAcl or s3:PutObjectAcl, but those actions can still allow public access if the bucket’s block public access settings are disabled first. Memory tip: think of SCPs as the “master switch” that locks the door, while IAM policies are the keys—deny the switch, and no key works.
DOP-C02 Configuration Management and IaC Practice Question
This DOP-C02 practice question tests your understanding of configuration management and iac. The scenario asks you to isolate a root cause — eliminate options that address a different problem before choosing. 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 has a multi-account AWS environment using AWS Organizations. The DevOps team wants to enforce a policy that prevents creating S3 buckets with public read access. They plan to use AWS CloudFormation StackSets to deploy a stack across all accounts. What is the BEST way to enforce this policy?
Clue words in this question
Noticing these words before you look at the options changes how you read each choice.
Clue: "best"
Why it matters: Signals that multiple options may be partially correct. Choose the option that most directly solves the exact problem described, not the one that sounds most complete.
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Create a service control policy (SCP) in the root organizational unit that denies the s3:PutBucketPublicAccessBlock action.
Option C is correct because a service control policy (SCP) applied at the root organizational unit in AWS Organizations can centrally deny the s3:PutBucketPublicAccessBlock action across all accounts, effectively preventing any user or role from disabling the bucket-level public access block settings. This approach works even if an IAM principal has full administrative permissions, as SCPs act as a guardrail that cannot be overridden by account-level policies. It enforces the policy at the organization level without requiring per-account configuration or modifying individual IAM users.
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.
✗
Use AWS CloudFormation Guard to validate templates before deployment and reject those with public access.
Why it's wrong here
Guard validates templates but does not prevent API calls outside CloudFormation.
✗
Create an IAM policy that denies s3:PutBucketAcl and attach it to all IAM users.
Why it's wrong here
Does not apply to roles assumed by services.
✓
Create a service control policy (SCP) in the root organizational unit that denies the s3:PutBucketPublicAccessBlock action.
Why this is correct
SCPs can deny actions across all accounts.
Clue confirmation
The clue word "best" in the question point toward this answer.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
✗
Create an S3 bucket policy in each account that denies public read access.
Why it's wrong here
Bucket policies only apply to specific buckets, not prevent creation.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is that candidates often confuse SCPs with IAM policies or resource-based policies, assuming that an SCP can only restrict IAM users and not API actions like s3:PutBucketPublicAccessBlock, or they mistakenly think that denying s3:PutBucketAcl is sufficient to prevent public read access when in reality bucket policies are a more common vector for granting public access.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
SCPs in AWS Organizations are evaluated before any IAM or resource-based policies, meaning they can effectively block actions even if an IAM policy explicitly allows them. The s3:PutBucketPublicAccessBlock action is the API call used to configure or remove the bucket-level public access block settings; by denying this action, the SCP prevents any principal from disabling the block that would otherwise allow public read access. This approach leverages the fact that S3 Block Public Access settings at the bucket level override any bucket policies or ACLs that grant public access, so denying the ability to modify those settings enforces the desired restriction.
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.
TExam Day Tips
→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 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.
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
Configuration Management and IaC — This question tests Configuration Management and IaC — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Create a service control policy (SCP) in the root organizational unit that denies the s3:PutBucketPublicAccessBlock action. — Option C is correct because a service control policy (SCP) applied at the root organizational unit in AWS Organizations can centrally deny the s3:PutBucketPublicAccessBlock action across all accounts, effectively preventing any user or role from disabling the bucket-level public access block settings. This approach works even if an IAM principal has full administrative permissions, as SCPs act as a guardrail that cannot be overridden by account-level policies. It enforces the policy at the organization level without requiring per-account configuration or modifying individual IAM users.
What should I do if I get this DOP-C02 question wrong?
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
Are there clue words in this question I should notice?
Yes — watch for: "best". Signals that multiple options may be partially correct. Choose the option that most directly solves the exact problem described, not the one that sounds most complete.
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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