Quick Answer
The answer is AWS CloudTrail because it is the service specifically designed to record all API activity within your AWS account, including every call that creates, modifies, or deletes a security group. When you need to audit security group changes, CloudTrail captures the who, what, when, and source IP of each API request, providing a complete audit trail. On the AWS Certified Advanced Networking Specialty ANS-C01 exam, this concept tests your ability to distinguish between services that log API calls versus those that monitor configuration state or network traffic. A common trap is choosing AWS Config, which tracks resource configuration changes over time but does not log the API calls themselves, or VPC Flow Logs, which only capture network traffic metadata. For a quick memory tip, remember that CloudTrail trails API calls, while Config checks configuration compliance—if you need to see who made a change and when, always reach for CloudTrail.
This ANS-C01 practice question tests your understanding of network security, compliance and governance. This is a configuration task: choose the command set that satisfies every stated requirement. Small differences — like 'secret' vs 'password' or 'transport input ssh' vs 'all' — change whether the answer is correct. 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 needs to audit all changes to security groups in their AWS account. Which AWS service should they use?
AWS Config
Why wrong: Config tracks resource configuration changes but not API calls detail.
AWS CloudTrail
CloudTrail records all API calls, including security group modifications.
Amazon CloudWatch Logs
Why wrong: CloudWatch Logs stores logs but does not capture API calls automatically.
VPC Flow Logs
Why wrong: Flow logs capture network traffic, not API calls.
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 CloudTrail
Option B is correct because AWS CloudTrail records API calls, including changes to security groups. Option A is wrong because AWS Config records resource configuration changes but is not primarily for auditing API calls. Option C is wrong because VPC Flow Logs capture network traffic, not API calls. Option D is wrong because CloudWatch Logs stores logs but does not capture API calls by default.
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 Config
Why it's wrong here
Config tracks resource configuration changes but not API calls detail.
AWS CloudTrail
Why this is correct
CloudTrail records all API calls, including security group modifications.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
Amazon CloudWatch Logs
Why it's wrong here
CloudWatch Logs stores logs but does not capture API calls automatically.
VPC Flow Logs
Why it's wrong here
Flow logs capture network traffic, not API calls.
Common exam traps
Many certification questions include familiar terms but test a specific constraint. Read the exact wording before choosing an answer that is generally true but wrong for this case.
Detailed technical explanation
This question should be treated as a scenario, not a definition check. Identify the problem, the constraint and the best action. Then compare each option against those facts.
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 ANS-C01 exam domain this question belongs to, then review the specific concept being tested. Practise related questions in that domain and focus on understanding why each wrong answer is tempting — not just why the correct answer is right.
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FAQ
Network Security, Compliance and Governance — This question tests Network Security, Compliance and Governance — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
The correct answer is: AWS CloudTrail — Option B is correct because AWS CloudTrail records API calls, including changes to security groups. Option A is wrong because AWS Config records resource configuration changes but is not primarily for auditing API calls. Option C is wrong because VPC Flow Logs capture network traffic, not API calls. Option D is wrong because CloudWatch Logs stores logs but does not capture API calls by default.
Identify which ANS-C01 exam domain this question belongs to, then review the specific concept being tested. Practise related questions in that domain and focus on understanding why each wrong answer is tempting — not just why the correct answer is right.
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 →
Same concept, more angles
These questions test the same concept from different angles. Work through them to make sure you can recognise it however the exam phrases it.
Variation 1. A company wants to audit all changes to security groups in their AWS account. They need to be notified whenever a security group rule is added, modified, or removed. They also want to see who made the change. Which solution should they implement?
mediumWhy C: AWS CloudTrail captures all API calls, including EC2 SecurityGroup-related actions (AuthorizeSecurityGroupIngress, RevokeSecurityGroupIngress, etc.), recording the identity of the caller. A CloudWatch Events rule can filter for these specific events and trigger an SNS notification, providing both the change details and the IAM user or role that made the change. This meets the audit and notification requirements precisely.
Variation 2. A company wants to audit all changes to security groups in their AWS account. Which AWS service should they use to track API calls that modify security groups?
easyWhy B: Option A is correct because AWS CloudTrail records API calls, including those that modify security groups. Option B is wrong because CloudWatch Logs can store logs but not capture API calls directly. Option C is wrong because AWS Config tracks resource configuration changes but not API calls. Option D is wrong because VPC Flow Logs capture network traffic, not API calls.
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Last reviewed: Jun 20, 2026
This ANS-C01 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 ANS-C01 exam.
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