ANS-C01 Network Security, Compliance and Governance Practice Question
A company wants to audit all changes made to security groups and network ACLs in its AWS account. Which AWS service should be used to capture these API calls?
⚠ Common exam trap
It's easy for candidates to confuse AWS Config (which tracks configuration state) with CloudTrail (which tracks API actions), but the question explicitly asks for capturing the API calls themselves, not the resulting configuration changes.
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
✓
AWS CloudTrail
AWS CloudTrail is the correct service because it records all API calls made to the AWS environment, including those that modify security groups and network ACLs. By enabling CloudTrail, you can capture CreateSecurityGroup, AuthorizeSecurityGroupIngress, RevokeSecurityGroupEgress, CreateNetworkAclEntry, and similar API calls, providing an audit trail of who made the change, when, and from which IP address.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✓
AWS CloudTrail
Why this is correct
CloudTrail logs API calls for auditing.
- ✗
Amazon GuardDuty
Why it's wrong here
GuardDuty is for threat detection.
- ✗
VPC Flow Logs
Why it's wrong here
Flow logs capture network traffic, not API calls.
- ✗
AWS Config
Why it's wrong here
Config records resource configuration changes, not API calls.
Go deeper
Related to this question
About these practice questions
One of 1,621 original ANS-C01 practice questions on Courseiva, each with a full explanation and wrong-answer analysis — not exam dumps or protected exam content. Learn why practice questions differ from exam dumps →
Same concept, more angles
5 more ways this is tested on ANS-C01
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 security engineer needs to audit all API calls that modify security group rules in a VPC. Which AWS service should be used to record these API calls?
easy- ✓ A.AWS CloudTrail
- B.Amazon Inspector
- C.AWS Config
- D.VPC Flow Logs
Why A: AWS CloudTrail records all API calls made to the AWS API, including modifications to security group rules. Option A is correct. AWS Config records resource configuration changes but not API calls. VPC Flow Logs capture network traffic logs, not API calls. Amazon Inspector is for vulnerability assessment.
Variation 2. A company wants to audit all changes to security group rules in their AWS account. Which AWS service should be used to record these changes?
medium- ✓ A.AWS CloudTrail
- B.AWS Config
- C.VPC Flow Logs
- D.Amazon Inspector
Why A: AWS CloudTrail records API calls made in the AWS account, including calls to authorize security group rule changes (e.g., AuthorizeSecurityGroupIngress, RevokeSecurityGroupEgress). This makes it the appropriate service for auditing changes to security group rules. AWS Config (Option B) records resource configurations and can track changes, but it is not the primary service for API-level auditing. VPC Flow Logs (Option C) capture network traffic metadata, not configuration changes. Amazon Inspector (Option D) is a vulnerability assessment service, not an audit service for changes.
Variation 3. A company wants to audit all changes to security group rules in a VPC. Which AWS service should be used to record these changes?
easy- ✓ A.AWS CloudTrail
- B.AWS Config
- C.VPC Flow Logs
- D.Amazon CloudWatch
Why A: AWS CloudTrail records API calls made to the AWS environment, including calls to modify security group rules (such as AuthorizeSecurityGroupIngress, RevokeSecurityGroupEgress, etc.). This provides a detailed audit trail of who made the change, when, and from where. AWS Config can record resource configuration changes and can provide a history of security group rule changes, but it is not the primary service for auditing API calls; it focuses on configuration compliance and resource relationships. VPC Flow Logs capture metadata about network traffic, not configuration changes. CloudWatch monitors performance metrics and logs. Therefore, CloudTrail is the correct answer.
Variation 4. A company needs to audit all changes to security groups in a VPC. Which AWS service should be used?
easy- A.VPC Flow Logs
- B.AWS Config
- C.Amazon CloudWatch
- ✓ D.AWS CloudTrail
Why D: AWS CloudTrail records API calls, including changes to security groups, and can be used for auditing. Option A is wrong because VPC Flow Logs capture network traffic, not API activity. Option B is wrong because AWS Config can track resource configuration changes but is not primarily for auditing API calls; it focuses on compliance and configuration history. Option C is wrong because Amazon CloudWatch is for monitoring metrics and logs, not API activity.
Variation 5. A security engineer needs to audit all changes to security group rules in an AWS account. Which AWS service should be used to record these changes?
easy- A.VPC Flow Logs
- ✓ B.AWS CloudTrail
- C.AWS Config
- D.Amazon CloudWatch Logs
Why B: AWS CloudTrail records API calls, including changes to security group rules. Option A (VPC Flow Logs) is wrong because it captures network traffic, not API calls. Option C (AWS Config) is wrong because it records configuration changes, but not the API call history. Option D (Amazon CloudWatch Logs) is wrong because it is used for log storage and monitoring, not for recording API calls.
JA
Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
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.