ANS-C01 Network Security, Compliance and Governance Practice Question
A company wants to restrict access to an S3 bucket so that only requests originating from a specific AWS account can read objects. Which bucket policy condition should be used?
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:SourceAccount
(aws:SourceAccount). The aws:SourceAccount condition key is used in S3 bucket policies to restrict access to requests originating from a specific AWS account. Option A (aws:Referer) is used to restrict based on HTTP referer header, not account. Option B (aws:PrincipalAccount) is not a valid condition key in S3 policies. Option D (aws:SourceArn) restricts based on the ARN of the source resource, not the account. Therefore, Option C is the correct choice.
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:Referer
Why it's wrong here
This condition key is based on the HTTP referer header, not account.
- ✗
aws:PrincipalAccount
Why it's wrong here
This is not a valid condition key; use aws:SourceAccount or aws:PrincipalOrgID.
- ✓
aws:SourceAccount
Why this is correct
This condition key is used to restrict access based on the account that owns the resource making the request.
- ✗
aws:SourceArn
Why it's wrong here
This condition key is used for services that pass an ARN, such as SNS or SQS.
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 |
Go deeper
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Variation 1. A company wants to restrict access to an S3 bucket so that only traffic from a specific AWS account is allowed. Which S3 bucket policy condition key should be used to achieve this?
medium- A.aws:PrincipalAccount
- B.aws:Referer
- ✓ C.aws:SourceAccount
- D.aws:SourceArn
Why C: Using the 'aws:SourceAccount' condition key ensures that only requests originating from the specified AWS account are allowed. Option A is wrong because 'aws:PrincipalAccount' checks the principal's account, not the source account. Option B is wrong because 'aws:Referer' checks the HTTP referer header, not the source account. Option D is wrong because 'aws:SourceArn' checks the ARN of the source resource, not the account.
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.