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CCNA Network Security Governance Questions

46 of 421 questions · Page 6/6 · Network Security Governance topic · Answers revealed

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376
MCQeasy

A company has deployed a VPC with public and private subnets. They have an Internet Gateway attached to the VPC and a NAT Gateway in the public subnet. The private subnet instances need to download patches from the internet. Which configuration ensures that the private instances can reach the internet while preventing inbound traffic from the internet?

A.Add a VPC Gateway Endpoint for Amazon S3 to the private subnet route table.
B.Add a route in the private subnet route table pointing 0.0.0.0/0 to the Internet Gateway.
C.Add a route in the private subnet route table pointing 0.0.0.0/0 to the NAT Gateway.
D.Create a VPC Peering connection to a public VPC and route traffic through it.
AnswerC

NAT Gateway allows outbound traffic to the internet and blocks unsolicited inbound traffic.

Why this answer

Option A is correct because a route to the NAT Gateway allows outbound traffic to the internet, and the NAT Gateway does not allow inbound traffic initiated from the internet. Option B is wrong because an Internet Gateway would allow inbound traffic. Option C is wrong because a VPC Gateway Endpoint is for specific AWS services like S3 and DynamoDB, not general internet access.

Option D is wrong because a VPC Peering connection does not provide internet access.

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377
Multi-Selectmedium

A security engineer notices that an EC2 instance in a public subnet is receiving inbound SSH traffic from a range of IP addresses that should be blocked. Which two actions should the engineer take to troubleshoot? (Choose two.)

Select 2 answers
A.Check the instance metadata for IP restrictions
B.Check the route table associated with the subnet
C.Review the Security Group rules attached to the instance
D.Check the Network ACL associated with the subnet
E.Check VPC Flow Logs to identify the source IP addresses
AnswersC, E

Security groups control inbound traffic to the instance.

Why this answer

Options A and D are correct. Checking VPC Flow Logs helps identify the source IP of the traffic. Reviewing Security Group rules ensures that the security group is not allowing the unwanted SSH traffic.

Option B is wrong because Network ACLs are stateless and might be blocking, but they are not the first place to check for inbound traffic to an instance. Option C is wrong because the route table does not affect inbound traffic to the instance. Option E is wrong because the instance metadata does not contain network access rules.

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378
Multi-Selecthard

Which THREE components are required to enable AWS Shield Advanced automatic application layer DDoS mitigation for an Application Load Balancer? (Choose three.)

Select 3 answers
A.AWS Shield Advanced subscription
B.Amazon CloudFront distribution in front of the ALB
C.Amazon Route53 DNS configuration
D.An AWS WAF rate-based rule
E.AWS WAF web ACL associated with the ALB
AnswersA, D, E

Required for Advanced features.

Why this answer

Options A, B, and C are correct. Shield Advanced integrates with WAF for automatic mitigation, requires a web ACL, and must be associated with the ALB. Option D is wrong because CloudFront is not required.

Option E is wrong because Route53 is not required.

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379
MCQmedium

A security engineer reviews the NACL entries above for a subnet. Which statement about incoming SSH traffic (port 22) is correct?

A.SSH traffic is allowed only from the 10.0.0.0/8 range.
B.SSH traffic is allowed from all IP addresses.
C.SSH traffic is allowed from 10.0.0.0/8 and denied from all others.
D.SSH traffic is denied from all IP addresses.
AnswerB

Rule 100 allows all SSH traffic; subsequent rules are not evaluated.

Why this answer

NACLs are stateless and rules are evaluated in order by rule number. Rule 100 allows SSH from all IPs. Rule 200 denies SSH from all IPs, but it is not evaluated because rule 100 already allowed.

Rule 300 allows SSH from 10.0.0.0/8 but is not reached. Since rule 100 allows all, SSH is allowed from all IPs. Option A is correct.

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380
MCQeasy

A company needs to enforce that all IAM users use multi-factor authentication (MFA) to access the AWS Management Console. Which policy element should be used in an IAM policy to deny access if MFA is not present?

A.Resource
B.Condition
C.Action
D.Effect
AnswerB

Condition can check aws:MultiFactorAuthPresent.

Why this answer

The Condition element in an IAM policy allows you to specify conditions for when a policy is in effect. To deny access if MFA is not present, you use the `aws:MultiFactorAuthPresent` condition key with a Boolean value of `false`. This ensures that only requests authenticated with MFA are allowed, enforcing the security requirement.

Exam trap

The trap here is that candidates often confuse the Condition element with the Resource or Action elements, thinking MFA enforcement is tied to specific resources or actions, rather than understanding it is a contextual check applied via a condition key.

How to eliminate wrong answers

Option A is wrong because the Resource element specifies the AWS resources (e.g., ARNs) the policy applies to, not the authentication context like MFA presence. Option C is wrong because the Action element defines the specific API actions (e.g., ec2:DescribeInstances) that are allowed or denied, not the conditions under which they are evaluated. Option D is wrong because the Effect element only sets whether the policy allows or denies access (e.g., Allow or Deny), but it cannot enforce MFA requirements on its own without a Condition.

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381
MCQmedium

A company has deployed a web application on an EC2 instance that needs to access an S3 bucket and a DynamoDB table. The instance is in a private subnet. Which approach meets the security best practice of avoiding long-lived credentials on the instance?

A.Store IAM user access keys in the application configuration file.
B.Configure security group rules to allow outbound traffic to S3 and DynamoDB endpoints.
C.Use AWS Systems Manager Parameter Store to store credentials and retrieve them at runtime using the instance's IAM role.
D.Create an IAM role with policies granting access to S3 and DynamoDB, and attach the role to the EC2 instance profile.
AnswerD

The instance can obtain temporary credentials from the instance metadata service, eliminating the need for long-lived credentials.

Why this answer

The best practice is to attach an IAM role with the necessary permissions to the EC2 instance. The instance will automatically obtain temporary credentials via the instance metadata service. Option C is correct.

Option A (IAM user credentials) is not recommended as they are long-lived. Option B (AWS Systems Manager Parameter Store) still requires credentials to access the parameters. Option D (security groups) does not grant access to S3 or DynamoDB.

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382
MCQhard

A CloudFormation stack created a VPC Gateway Endpoint for S3 with the above policy. An EC2 instance in the VPC is unable to download objects from the S3 bucket using the AWS CLI. The instance has an IAM role with s3:GetObject permission. What is the most likely cause?

A.The security group associated with the VPC Endpoint blocks traffic.
B.The VPC Endpoint policy does not allow s3:GetObject.
C.The VPC Endpoint policy does not allow s3:ListBucket, which is needed for the CLI to list objects.
D.The route table for the private subnet does not have a route to the VPC Endpoint.
AnswerC

The CLI often lists objects first, requiring ListBucket permission.

Why this answer

Option B is correct because the VPC Endpoint policy allows only s3:GetObject, but the CLI often requires s3:ListBucket to list objects, and also the endpoint policy must be combined with IAM; the instance role may not have the correct permissions. Option A is wrong because the endpoint policy allows GetObject. Option C is wrong because Gateway Endpoints do not use security groups.

Option D is wrong because the route table must have a route to the endpoint, but the question implies it's configured.

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383
Multi-Selecthard

A company is designing a network security architecture for a VPC that hosts a multi-tier application. The security team requires that the web tier can only be accessed from the internet, the application tier can only be accessed from the web tier, and the database tier can only be accessed from the application tier. Additionally, the team needs to ensure that no traffic can bypass these controls. Which THREE actions should the team take?

Select 3 answers
A.Use security group rules that reference other security groups as sources.
B.Configure security groups to allow only necessary traffic between tiers.
C.Configure network ACLs (NACLs) to allow only necessary traffic between subnets as a defense-in-depth measure.
D.Enable VPC Flow Logs on all subnets and send logs to Amazon S3.
E.Attach an internet gateway to the VPC and add a default route to the internet gateway in the web tier subnet's route table.
AnswersA, B, C

This allows allowing traffic from instances in another security group, enforcing tier-to-tier access.

Why this answer

Security group rules can reference other security groups as sources, which allows the web tier security group to permit traffic only from the application tier security group, and the application tier security group to permit traffic only from the database tier security group. This creates a logical, stateful firewall that enforces the required traffic flow between tiers without relying on IP addresses, ensuring that no traffic can bypass the controls even if subnet configurations change.

Exam trap

The trap here is that candidates often confuse VPC Flow Logs (a monitoring tool) with a security control, or they mistakenly think that adding an internet gateway alone enforces the tier-to-tier access rules, when in fact the correct actions must directly restrict traffic flow between tiers using security group references, security group rules, and NACLs.

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384
MCQmedium

Refer to the exhibit. A security engineer applies this S3 bucket policy. What is the result of this policy?

A.All objects must be encrypted with SSE-S3 or SSE-KMS.
B.All PutObject requests must use SSE-KMS encryption.
C.All objects must be encrypted with a specific KMS key.
D.All PutObject requests are allowed regardless of encryption.
AnswerB

The policy denies if encryption is not aws:kms.

Why this answer

Option C is correct. The policy denies s3:PutObject if the object is not encrypted with SSE-KMS (condition StringNotEquals aws:kms). Option A is wrong because it does not require a specific KMS key, just SSE-KMS.

Option B is wrong because it does not allow any encryption. Option D is wrong because the policy explicitly denies, not allows.

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385
MCQeasy

A company wants to encrypt all data in transit between its on-premises data center and AWS. They are using AWS Direct Connect for connectivity. Which additional configuration is required to ensure encryption?

A.Use MACsec to encrypt the Direct Connect connection
B.Configure TLS on all applications
C.No additional configuration is needed; Direct Connect encrypts traffic automatically
D.Set up an IPsec VPN over the Direct Connect connection
AnswerD

IPsec provides encryption for the entire traffic.

Why this answer

Option C is correct. Direct Connect does not provide encryption by default; you need to establish an IPsec VPN over the Direct Connect connection. Option A is wrong because Direct Connect itself does not encrypt.

Option B is wrong because TLS is for application-level. Option D is wrong because MACsec is for encryption of Direct Connect at Layer 1, but it is not commonly used; IPsec is the standard.

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386
MCQhard

A company is migrating a legacy application to AWS. The application requires that all traffic between the web and application tiers be encrypted, but the application does not support TLS. What should a network engineer do to meet this requirement without modifying the application?

A.Establish a VPN connection between the web and application instances.
B.Use a Network Load Balancer (NLB) with TLS termination and target groups with TCP, then enable encryption on the NLB.
C.Use an Application Load Balancer (ALB) with TLS termination between the tiers.
D.Use a Classic Load Balancer with TCP listeners.
AnswerB

NLB can terminate TLS and forward decrypted traffic to targets that don't support TLS.

Why this answer

Using a Network Load Balancer (NLB) with TLS termination can offload encryption/decryption. Option C is correct. Option A is wrong because Application Load Balancer works at layer 7 and requires TLS support from the app.

Option B is wrong because Classic Load Balancer is deprecated and less capable. Option D is wrong because VPN is for hybrid connectivity, not within a VPC.

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387
MCQhard

A security engineer is designing a network security architecture for a multi-account AWS environment using AWS Organizations. The company requires that all VPC flow logs be delivered to a central S3 bucket in the security account. The security engineer has created a bucket policy that grants the necessary permissions. However, flow logs from member accounts are failing to be delivered. What is the most likely cause?

A.The member accounts have not created an IAM role with permissions to write to the central bucket.
B.The bucket policy does not include a condition that restricts access to the flow log delivery service using aws:SourceArn or aws:SourceAccount.
C.The bucket policy does not grant write access to the member accounts' root user.
D.The central S3 bucket has not been configured with ACLs enabled.
AnswerB

This condition is essential to prevent the confused deputy problem.

Why this answer

Option B is correct because the VPC Flow Logs delivery service uses a service-linked role to write to the destination S3 bucket. Without a condition in the bucket policy that restricts access using `aws:SourceArn` or `aws:SourceAccount`, the policy is vulnerable to the confused deputy problem, where a different AWS service or account could potentially write to the bucket. The missing condition causes the delivery to fail because the service cannot verify that the request originated from the expected source.

Exam trap

AWS often tests the confused deputy problem in cross-account service delivery scenarios, and the trap here is that candidates mistakenly focus on IAM roles or root user permissions instead of recognizing that the bucket policy must include a source condition to prevent unauthorized access.

How to eliminate wrong answers

Option A is wrong because VPC Flow Logs use a service-linked role (AWSServiceRoleForVPCFlowLogs) that is automatically created in each member account; the engineer does not need to manually create an IAM role for writing to the central bucket. Option C is wrong because granting write access to the member accounts' root user is unnecessary and overly permissive; the bucket policy should grant permissions to the VPC Flow Logs service principal (delivery.logs.amazonaws.com) with the appropriate source condition. Option D is wrong because S3 ACLs are not required for this use case; bucket policies alone can grant cross-account access, and disabling ACLs (the default in modern AWS) does not prevent flow log delivery.

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388
MCQmedium

Refer to the exhibit. A network engineer has configured VPC Flow Logs for a VPC and is verifying the logs. The flow logs are being delivered to CloudWatch Logs, but the engineer notices that the logs do not contain the 'srcaddr' and 'dstaddr' fields. What is the most likely cause?

A.The flow log is configured with TrafficType set to 'REJECT' only
B.The IAM role FlowLogRole does not have permission to write to CloudWatch Logs
C.The flow log is configured with a MaxAggregationInterval of 60 seconds, which causes fields to be omitted
D.The flow log is using the default log format, which does not include source and destination addresses
AnswerD

The default format does not include srcaddr and dstaddr; a custom format is required.

Why this answer

Option B is correct. The default log format for VPC Flow Logs includes only certain fields. To include source and destination addresses, the custom format must include `${srcaddr}` and `${dstaddr}`.

The exhibit shows a custom format that includes them, so that's fine. Actually, the exhibit shows a custom format that includes `${srcaddr}` and `${dstaddr}`. So the logs should contain them.

The issue might be that the log format is not being applied? No. Another possibility: The flow log status is ACTIVE, so it's working. Perhaps the issue is that the VPC does not have any traffic? But that would result in no logs, not missing fields.

The most likely cause is that the log format specified in the flow log creation does not match the format in the exhibit? The exhibit shows the format, so it should be correct. Wait, maybe the problem is that the flow log is configured with `TrafficType: ALL`, which includes accepted and rejected traffic. That should work.

I think the answer is that the flow log is configured with `LogDestinationType: cloud-watch-logs`, but the log format is custom. That is fine. The missing fields could be because the log format string has a typo: `${srcaddr}` and `${dstaddr}` are correct.

However, note that the default format does not include them, but here custom is used. So maybe the issue is that the flow log is not actually using the custom format because the `LogFormat` field is present, but the console or API might not return it? No. I recall that the custom format must be specified at creation time.

The exhibit shows it, so it's set. The only reason fields would be missing is if the format string does not include them. But it does.

So perhaps the answer is that the flow log is filtering by a specific subnet or ENI? The exhibit shows ResourceId is a VPC, so it logs all traffic. The most likely cause is that the flow log is using the default format, but the exhibit shows a custom format because the engineer used the describe command and it shows the custom format. So it's set.

I'll go with option B: The flow log is configured with the default format, not the custom format. But the exhibit shows custom format. Contradiction.

Let me adjust the exhibit to show the default format (no LogFormat field). I'll change the exhibit to omit LogFormat. Then the answer is B.

I'll revise the exhibit.

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389
MCQeasy

A company is designing a network security architecture for a multi-account AWS environment. They need to centrally inspect and filter traffic between VPCs using a third-party firewall appliance. Which AWS service should they use to route traffic through the inspection VPC?

A.VPC Peering
B.AWS Direct Connect
C.AWS Transit Gateway
D.VPC Endpoints
AnswerC

Supports hub-and-spoke architecture with inspection VPC.

Why this answer

Option B is correct because AWS Transit Gateway with a central inspection VPC allows routing traffic through a firewall appliance. Option A is wrong because VPC Peering does not support transitive routing. Option C is wrong because Direct Connect is for on-premises connectivity.

Option D is wrong because VPC Endpoints are for private access to AWS services, not inter-VPC traffic.

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390
Drag & Dropmedium

Order the steps to troubleshoot an AWS Direct Connect virtual interface that is in the 'down' state:

Drag steps to the numbered slots on the right, or tap a step then tap a slot.

Steps
Order

Why this order

Start with the connection status, then verify virtual interface configuration, check on-premises BGP, test connectivity, and escalate if unresolved.

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391
MCQeasy

A company wants to encrypt data at rest in an S3 bucket. Which AWS service can manage the encryption keys if the company wants to use server-side encryption with AWS KMS?

A.AWS Certificate Manager (ACM)
B.AWS CloudHSM
C.AWS Secrets Manager
D.AWS Key Management Service (KMS)
AnswerD

KMS creates and manages encryption keys used for server-side encryption in S3.

Why this answer

AWS Key Management Service (KMS) is the service that manages encryption keys for server-side encryption (SSE-KMS). Option B is correct. AWS Certificate Manager (ACM) manages SSL/TLS certificates.

AWS CloudHSM provides dedicated hardware security modules but is not required for SSE-KMS. AWS Secrets Manager manages secrets like database credentials.

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392
Multi-Selecteasy

A company needs to encrypt data in transit between an Application Load Balancer and EC2 instances. Which TWO actions should they take?

Select 2 answers
A.Create a TCP listener on the ALB.
B.Place Amazon CloudFront in front of the ALB.
C.Upload a certificate to AWS Certificate Manager (ACM).
D.Configure the ALB target group to use HTTPS protocol.
E.Use a self-signed certificate on the EC2 instances.
AnswersC, D

ACM provides SSL/TLS certificates that can be used by the ALB for HTTPS.

Why this answer

To encrypt traffic between ALB and EC2 instances, you need to upload a certificate to AWS Certificate Manager (ACM) and configure the ALB listener to use HTTPS for the backend. Option B and D are correct. Option A (TCP listener) does not support encryption.

Option C (self-signed certificate) is not recommended for production. Option E (CloudFront) is a CDN, not required for backend encryption.

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393
Multi-Selecthard

Which THREE services can be used to detect and protect against DDoS attacks? (Choose THREE.)

Select 3 answers
A.AWS Firewall Manager
B.AWS Config
C.AWS Shield Advanced
D.AWS WAF
E.VPC Flow Logs
AnswersA, C, D

Centrally manages DDoS protection rules.

Why this answer

Options A, B, and C are correct. AWS Shield Advanced provides DDoS protection, AWS WAF filters web traffic, and AWS Firewall Manager centrally manages rules. Option D is wrong because VPC Flow Logs only log traffic.

Option E is wrong because AWS Config tracks configuration.

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394
MCQeasy

A company wants to block outgoing traffic from a specific EC2 instance to the internet, except for HTTPS traffic to a specific API endpoint. Which AWS service can enforce this at the instance level?

A.AWS WAF
B.Network ACL
C.Security group with outbound rules
D.AWS Network Firewall
AnswerD

Can filter outbound traffic by domain name.

Why this answer

Option D is correct because AWS Network Firewall can be deployed in the VPC to filter outbound traffic based on domain names. Option A is wrong because security groups do not support allowlisting based on domain names. Option B is wrong because NACLs are stateless and work at the subnet level.

Option C is wrong because AWS WAF works at the application layer for inbound web traffic.

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395
MCQmedium

A company is designing a security group rule to allow outbound HTTPS traffic (TCP 443) to a specific external service IP range 203.0.113.0/24. The security group is attached to a fleet of EC2 instances. Which rule should be added?

A.Type: HTTPS, Protocol: TCP, Port: 443, Destination: 203.0.113.0/32
B.Type: HTTPS, Protocol: TCP, Port: 443, Destination: pl-12345 (prefix list for the IP range)
C.Type: HTTPS, Protocol: TCP, Port: 443, Source: 203.0.113.0/24
D.Type: HTTPS, Protocol: TCP, Port: 443, Destination: 203.0.113.0/24
AnswerD

Correct outbound rule with destination CIDR.

Why this answer

Option D is correct because security group outbound rules require a destination CIDR. Option A is wrong because source is for inbound rules. Option B is wrong because security groups do not use prefix lists for destinations.

Option C is wrong because the IP range is /24, not /32.

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396
Multi-Selecthard

A company is using AWS Organizations to manage multiple accounts. The security team wants to enforce that all S3 buckets across the organization are encrypted with SSE-S3 or SSE-KMS. Which THREE steps should they take to implement this policy?

Select 3 answers
A.Apply a bucket policy in each account that denies PutObject without encryption.
B.Attach the SCP to the root organizational unit (OU) to apply to all accounts.
C.Use a VPC endpoint policy to enforce encryption for all S3 access from the VPC.
D.Use AWS Config rules to check for unencrypted S3 buckets and trigger automatic remediation.
E.Create a service control policy (SCP) that denies s3:PutBucketPublicAccessBlock and s3:CreateBucket without encryption settings.
AnswersB, D, E

Attaching SCP to root OU ensures enforcement across all accounts.

Why this answer

Options A, B, and C are correct. Creating an SCP in the root OU denies the creation of unencrypted buckets. Additionally, using AWS Config rules and remediation actions can enforce encryption on existing buckets.

Option D is wrong because a bucket policy is per bucket, not organizational. Option E is wrong because a VPC endpoint policy controls access to S3 from a VPC, not encryption.

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397
MCQeasy

A company is using Amazon S3 to store sensitive data. The security team wants to ensure that all data is encrypted at rest. Which S3 bucket property should be enabled?

A.Versioning
B.MFA Delete
C.Server access logging
D.Default encryption
AnswerD

Default encryption enforces encryption on all objects stored in the bucket.

Why this answer

S3 bucket default encryption ensures that all objects uploaded to the bucket are encrypted at rest. Option B is wrong because versioning is for object versioning, not encryption. Option C is wrong because logging is for access logging.

Option D is wrong because MFA Delete is for delete protection.

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398
MCQhard

A company has a hybrid network architecture with an AWS Direct Connect connection between its on-premises data center and an Amazon VPC. The VPC has a single private subnet with Amazon EC2 instances running a critical application. The on-premises network uses BGP to advertise a route for the VPC's CIDR (10.0.0.0/16) to the on-premises routers. Recently, the company added a new application in a second VPC (VPC-B) with CIDR 10.1.0.0/16 and peered it with the original VPC (VPC-A). After the peering, users on-premises can still reach resources in VPC-A, but cannot reach resources in VPC-B. The VPC-A route table has a route for VPC-B's CIDR pointing to the peering connection. The VPC-B route table has a route for VPC-A's CIDR pointing to the peering connection. The on-premises routers have a static route for VPC-B's CIDR pointing to the Direct Connect virtual interface. What is the most likely cause of the issue?

A.The VPC peering connection is not properly configured.
B.The on-premises network is not advertising VPC-B's CIDR to the VPC via BGP, so VPC-B does not have a route back to on-premises.
C.The security group on VPC-B instances is blocking inbound traffic from on-premises IP ranges.
D.The virtual private gateway does not have route propagation enabled for VPC-B.
AnswerB

VPC-B needs a route to on-premises CIDR pointing to the virtual private gateway, but that route must be propagated via BGP or added manually.

Why this answer

Option C is correct. The on-premises network does not know how to reach VPC-B because VPC-B's CIDR is not advertised via BGP over Direct Connect. The static route on on-premises routers is not propagated to the VPC side, so VPC-B does not have a return route to on-premises.

Option A is incorrect because the peering connection is working between VPCs. Option B is incorrect because security groups are stateful and would allow return traffic. Option D is incorrect because route propagation for the virtual private gateway does not apply to VPC-B if it is not attached to the same VGW.

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399
MCQeasy

A security engineer needs to centrally manage and enforce rules for network traffic between VPCs in a large AWS environment. Which AWS service provides this capability?

A.VPC peering
B.Security groups
C.Network ACLs
D.AWS Network Firewall
AnswerD

AWS Network Firewall provides centralized firewall management across VPCs.

Why this answer

AWS Network Firewall can centrally manage firewall rules across VPCs. Option B is correct. Option A is wrong because security groups are per-ENI, not central.

Option C is wrong because VPC peering is connectivity, not filtering. Option D is wrong because NACLs are per-subnet.

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400
MCQhard

A company is designing a multi-account AWS environment using AWS Organizations. They want to restrict the use of certain instance types across all accounts. Which approach should they use to enforce this policy?

A.Create an IAM policy that denies the ec2:RunInstances action for noncompliant instance types and attach it to each IAM user.
B.Create a service control policy (SCP) that denies the ec2:RunInstances action for noncompliant instance types and attach it to the root organizational unit.
C.Set up AWS Config rules to detect noncompliant instances and trigger an AWS Lambda function to terminate them.
D.Use AWS CloudTrail to monitor ec2:RunInstances events and send alerts.
AnswerB

SCPs can be applied to organizational units to restrict actions across accounts.

Why this answer

Service control policies (SCPs) in AWS Organizations can be used to restrict the use of specific instance types across member accounts. Option A is correct. IAM policies are account-specific and cannot be applied across all accounts from a central location.

AWS Config can detect noncompliant instances but cannot prevent them from being launched. AWS CloudTrail is for auditing, not enforcement.

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401
MCQeasy

A security engineer is configuring AWS CloudTrail to log all management events across all regions. The logs must be stored in an S3 bucket that is encrypted with an AWS KMS key. Which bucket policy element is required to allow CloudTrail to write logs?

A.kms:Encrypt
B.kms:GenerateDataKey
C.kms:CreateKey
D.kms:Decrypt
AnswerD

CloudTrail needs decrypt permission to verify the key before encrypting logs.

Why this answer

Option B is correct because CloudTrail requires the kms:Decrypt permission for the bucket key to verify encrypted objects. Option A is wrong because CloudTrail does not need kms:CreateKey. Option C is wrong because kms:Encrypt is needed for the object, but the bucket policy must include Decrypt for the key.

Option D is wrong because kms:GenerateDataKey is not used by CloudTrail.

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402
MCQmedium

A company uses AWS Organizations with multiple accounts. The security team wants to centrally enforce that no Amazon S3 buckets are publicly accessible across all accounts. Which solution meets this requirement with the least operational overhead?

A.Use AWS Trusted Advisor to check for public buckets and send alerts.
B.Apply a service control policy (SCP) in AWS Organizations that denies the s3:PutBucketPublicAccessBlock action or enforces a bucket policy condition.
C.Create an IAM role in each account with a policy to deny public bucket access, and require users to assume that role.
D.Configure security group rules to block public internet access to the S3 endpoints.
AnswerB

SCPs centrally enforce rules across all accounts.

Why this answer

Option C is correct because an SCP can be applied at the root OU to deny the s3:PutBucketPublicAccessBlock action or enforce a specific bucket policy. Option A is wrong because IAM roles are per-account and cannot centrally enforce across accounts. Option B is wrong because Trusted Advisor provides recommendations, not enforcement.

Option D is wrong because security groups are for EC2, not S3.

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403
MCQmedium

A company has a VPC with public and private subnets. An application running in a private subnet needs to access an S3 bucket to read and write data. The security team wants to ensure that traffic to S3 does not traverse the internet. Which solution should the team implement?

A.Establish a VPN connection to AWS and route S3 traffic through the VPN.
B.Configure a NAT gateway in the public subnet and update the private subnet route table with a default route pointing to the NAT gateway.
C.Create a gateway VPC endpoint for S3 and add a route to the endpoint in the private subnet route table.
D.Attach an internet gateway to the VPC and add a route to the S3 prefix list in the private subnet route table.
AnswerC

Gateway endpoints provide private access to S3 without traversing the internet.

Why this answer

A gateway VPC endpoint for S3 allows instances in a private subnet to access S3 privately using AWS's internal network, without traversing the internet. By adding a route to the endpoint's prefix list in the private subnet route table, traffic destined for S3 is directed through the endpoint, which uses AWS PrivateLink to provide highly available, redundant connectivity.

Exam trap

AWS often tests the misconception that a NAT gateway is required for private subnet outbound traffic, but for AWS services like S3, a gateway VPC endpoint provides private connectivity without internet egress.

How to eliminate wrong answers

Option A is wrong because establishing a VPN connection would route traffic over an encrypted tunnel that still traverses the internet or a third-party network, and it does not provide direct private connectivity to S3 without internet egress. Option B is wrong because a NAT gateway in a public subnet enables outbound internet access, but traffic to S3 would still traverse the internet, violating the requirement to avoid internet transit. Option D is wrong because attaching an internet gateway and adding a route to the S3 prefix list would direct traffic to the internet gateway, forcing S3 traffic over the internet, which does not meet the security requirement.

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404
MCQmedium

Refer to the exhibit. A network engineer examines the network ACL for a subnet. Which statement best describes the effect of this network ACL?

A.Both inbound and outbound TCP traffic are allowed
B.Inbound TCP traffic is allowed, but all outbound traffic is denied
C.All inbound traffic is allowed
D.All outbound traffic is allowed
AnswerB

Inbound TCP rule allows TCP; outbound default deny blocks all.

Why this answer

The inbound rule allows TCP traffic (protocol 6) from all sources, but the default deny rule blocks all other inbound traffic. Outbound traffic is all denied. The explicit allow rule for inbound TCP takes precedence over the default deny.

Option A is wrong because it allows TCP inbound. Option B is wrong because it allows TCP inbound. Option C is wrong because outbound is denied.

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405
MCQhard

A company has a VPC with multiple subnets. They deploy a Network Firewall to inspect traffic. The firewall is configured with a stateful rule that allows outbound HTTP traffic to any destination. However, traffic from an EC2 instance in a private subnet to an external web server fails. The route table for the private subnet has a default route pointing to the firewall endpoint. What is the likely issue?

A.The stateful rule order is incorrect; a default deny rule is blocking traffic.
B.The EC2 instance security group does not allow outbound HTTP.
C.The firewall endpoint is in a different Availability Zone than the instance.
D.The subnet does not have a route to a NAT gateway.
AnswerC

Traffic must be sent to the firewall endpoint in the same AZ; otherwise routing may fail.

Why this answer

Option D is correct because the firewall endpoint is in a different Availability Zone; traffic must be routed to the firewall endpoint in the same AZ to avoid cross-AZ charges and potential routing issues. Option A is wrong because the stateful rule allows HTTP outbound. Option B is wrong because a NAT gateway is not required if using firewall.

Option C is wrong because the security group allows outbound HTTP.

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406
MCQhard

A company has a VPC with an IPv4 CIDR block of 10.0.0.0/16. They have peered this VPC with another VPC using a VPC Peering connection. The peered VPC has a CIDR of 10.0.0.0/16 (overlapping). The company wants to allow communication between specific instances in both VPCs without changing the CIDRs. What should they do?

A.Configure a NAT gateway in each VPC
B.Use AWS PrivateLink to create a VPC endpoint service in one VPC and access it from the other VPC
C.Use security group references to allow traffic between the instances
D.Create a Transit Gateway and attach both VPCs
AnswerB

PrivateLink allows connectivity without IP routing, avoiding CIDR overlap issues.

Why this answer

Option D is correct because with overlapping CIDRs, VPC Peering cannot route traffic correctly due to identical CIDR blocks. A Transit Gateway with Network Manager can be used with a VPN connection or Direct Connect to connect the VPCs, but the question asks for a solution to allow communication without changing CIDRs. However, the only way to allow communication with overlapping CIDRs is to use PrivateLink (VPC endpoint services) where one VPC hosts the service and the other VPC accesses it via an endpoint, avoiding routing conflicts.

Option A is wrong because security groups do not solve routing issues. Option B is wrong because NAT gateways do not resolve overlapping CIDR routing. Option C is wrong because a Transit Gateway does not resolve overlapping CIDRs without additional configuration like NAT.

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407
MCQmedium

A company uses AWS Shield Advanced to protect against DDoS attacks. They notice that some legitimate traffic is being throttled during a DDoS event. The security team wants to ensure that legitimate traffic from specific business partners is not affected. Which action should they take?

A.Disable the rate-based rule in AWS WAF during the DDoS event.
B.Increase the global rate limit in AWS Shield Advanced.
C.Add the partners' IP addresses to the AWS Shield Advanced whitelist.
D.Create a rate-based rule in AWS WAF with an IP set that includes the partners' IPs and set the rate limit high for that rule.
AnswerD

This allows higher request rates for trusted IPs while still protecting against DDoS.

Why this answer

Option B is correct because AWS WAF rate-based rules with IP sets allow you to exclude specific IP addresses from rate limiting. Option A is wrong because increasing the rate limit for the entire web ACL may still allow malicious traffic. Option C is wrong because disabling the rate-based rule removes protection.

Option D is wrong because Shield Advanced does not have built-in IP whitelisting at the application layer; that is done via WAF.

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408
Multi-Selecthard

A company wants to secure network traffic between on-premises data centers and AWS using AWS Site-to-Site VPN. Which TWO components are required to establish a VPN connection?

Select 2 answers
A.Transit Gateway
B.Customer Gateway (CGW)
C.VPN Connection
D.Direct Connect connection
E.Virtual Private Gateway (VGW)
AnswersB, E

CGW represents the on-premises device.

Why this answer

A virtual private gateway is required on the AWS side, and a customer gateway represents the on-premises VPN device. Option C is wrong because a transit gateway is optional. Option D is wrong because a VPN connection is the object that ties them together.

Option E is wrong because a Direct Connect connection is separate.

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409
MCQmedium

A network engineer is designing a security group for a web application that must allow inbound HTTPS traffic from the internet and outbound traffic to an RDS MySQL database. The web servers are in a public subnet and the RDS database is in a private subnet. What is the most secure way to configure the security groups?

A.Web SG: inbound HTTPS from 0.0.0.0/0; outbound MySQL to DB SG. DB SG: inbound MySQL from Web SG.
B.Web SG: inbound HTTPS from 0.0.0.0/0; outbound 0.0.0.0/0. DB SG: inbound MySQL from Web SG.
C.Web SG: inbound HTTPS from 0.0.0.0/0; outbound MySQL to DB SG. DB SG: inbound MySQL from 0.0.0.0/0.
D.Web SG: inbound HTTPS from 0.0.0.0/0; outbound 0.0.0.0/0. DB SG: inbound MySQL from 0.0.0.0/0.
AnswerA

Least privilege: web outbound only to DB, DB inbound only from web.

Why this answer

Option B is correct because the web server security group allows inbound HTTPS (443) from anywhere and outbound MySQL (3306) to the database security group. The database security group allows inbound MySQL from the web server security group. Option A is wrong because allowing outbound traffic to 0.0.0.0/0 is too permissive.

Option C is wrong because the database security group should reference the web server security group, not vice versa. Option D is wrong because the database should only allow inbound from the web server security group, not from the internet.

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410
MCQhard

A security engineer is designing a network architecture for a multi-account AWS environment using AWS Organizations. The company requires that all inter-VPC traffic be inspected by a centralized firewall appliance. Which solution provides the most scalable and maintainable inspection architecture?

A.Use a Transit Gateway with a centralized inspection VPC that uses AWS Network Firewall
B.Create VPC peering connections between all VPCs and route traffic through a security VPC with a firewall
C.Use Network ACLs in each VPC to filter traffic between subnets
D.Use a Transit Gateway and attach all VPCs to a centralized inspection VPC that hosts a third-party firewall
AnswerA

This provides scalable, centralized traffic inspection with managed firewall service.

Why this answer

Option D is correct because a Transit Gateway with centralized inspection VPC and Network Firewall provides scalable, centralized traffic inspection across many VPCs. Option A is wrong because VPC peering does not scale well and requires complex routing. Option B is wrong because third-party firewall appliances in a single VPC can become a bottleneck and are less scalable.

Option C is wrong because Network ACLs are stateless and not suitable for deep packet inspection.

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411
MCQhard

A company is designing a network security architecture for a multi-account AWS environment using AWS Organizations. They need to centrally manage and enforce VPC security group rules across all accounts. Which service should they use?

A.AWS CloudFormation StackSets
B.AWS Config
C.AWS Firewall Manager
D.AWS Service Catalog
AnswerC

Firewall Manager provides centralized management and enforcement of security groups and firewall rules across accounts.

Why this answer

Option C is correct because AWS Firewall Manager allows centralized management of security groups and AWS WAF rules across accounts in AWS Organizations. Option A is wrong because AWS Config is for compliance and configuration tracking, not enforcement. Option B is wrong because AWS CloudFormation StackSets deploy resources but do not centrally enforce security group rules.

Option D is wrong because AWS Service Catalog is for provisioning approved resources, not managing security groups.

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412
Multi-Selecthard

A company wants to monitor and log all changes to security group rules in their AWS account for compliance purposes. Which TWO services can be used together to achieve this?

Select 2 answers
A.AWS Trusted Advisor
B.VPC Flow Logs
C.Amazon EventBridge
D.AWS Config
E.AWS CloudTrail
AnswersC, E

EventBridge can match CloudTrail events and trigger actions for compliance monitoring.

Why this answer

Option A (AWS CloudTrail) logs API calls, including changes to security group rules. Option D (Amazon EventBridge) can capture CloudTrail events and trigger notifications. Together, they provide monitoring and logging.

Option B is wrong because VPC Flow Logs capture traffic, not configuration changes. Option C is wrong because AWS Config records resource state but does not log API calls. Option E is wrong because AWS Trusted Advisor provides best-practice checks, not change logging.

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413
MCQhard

A company uses AWS Direct Connect to connect its on-premises data center to AWS. The network team wants to ensure that traffic between the on-premises network and AWS is encrypted. Which solution meets this requirement?

A.Establish an IPSec VPN tunnel over the Direct Connect connection using a public VIF or transit VIF.
B.Establish a VPC peering connection between the on-premises network and the VPC.
C.Use a private virtual interface (VIF) over Direct Connect.
D.Use an IPSec VPN connection over the internet.
AnswerA

This encrypts traffic while using Direct Connect's low latency.

Why this answer

Direct Connect does not provide encryption by default; using a VPN tunnel over Direct Connect encrypts traffic. Option D is correct. Option A is wrong because Direct Connect private VIF does not encrypt.

Option B is wrong because VPC peering is not for on-premises. Option C is wrong because IPSec over public internet does not use Direct Connect.

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414
MCQmedium

A company is using AWS CloudFormation to deploy a stack that includes an S3 bucket with a bucket policy that restricts access to a specific VPC endpoint. The stack fails to create, and the error indicates that the bucket policy contains an invalid principal. Which principal should be used to restrict access to a VPC endpoint?

A.The condition key aws:SourceVpce
B.The VPC ID
C.The ARN of the VPC endpoint
D.The VPC endpoint service
AnswerA

The aws:SourceVpce condition key restricts access to requests originating from a specific VPC endpoint.

Why this answer

The condition key aws:SourceVpce allows restricting access to a specific VPC endpoint. Option A is wrong because a VPC endpoint has its own ARN, but it is not used as a principal. Option C is wrong because the VPC ID is not a principal.

Option D is wrong because the VPC endpoint service is not a principal for S3 bucket policies.

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415
MCQeasy

A company wants to block inbound SSH traffic to all EC2 instances in a VPC while allowing all other traffic. Which security group rule should be configured?

A.Add an inbound rule to deny TCP port 22
B.Remove any inbound rule that allows TCP port 22
C.Add an inbound deny rule for TCP port 22 to the network ACL
D.Add an outbound rule to deny TCP port 22
AnswerB

Security groups are stateful and have implicit deny; removing the allow rule blocks SSH.

Why this answer

Option A is correct because inbound rules are evaluated permissive: denying SSH by not having an allow rule means SSH is implicitly blocked. Option B is wrong because outbound rules control egress, not inbound. Option C is wrong because network ACLs are stateless and require explicit deny rules, but the question asks about security groups.

Option D is wrong because only inbound rules affect inbound traffic for security groups.

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416
MCQmedium

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?

A.Use AWS Trusted Advisor to check for security group changes and send email alerts.
B.Use AWS Config to monitor security group changes and trigger a Lambda function to send notifications.
C.Enable AWS CloudTrail and create a CloudWatch Events rule that triggers on EC2 SecurityGroup events, sending notifications via SNS.
D.Enable VPC Flow Logs and analyze logs for changes to security group rules.
AnswerC

CloudTrail logs API calls to create, modify, and delete security group rules. CloudWatch Events can filter on these events and send to SNS for notification.

Why this answer

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.

Exam trap

The trap here is that candidates confuse AWS Config's configuration tracking (which detects drift but not per-event user identity) with CloudTrail's API-level audit trail, or they mistakenly think VPC Flow Logs can capture security group changes when they only capture traffic metadata.

How to eliminate wrong answers

Option A is wrong because AWS Trusted Advisor provides best-practice checks and alerts for security group configurations (e.g., overly permissive rules), but it does not log or notify on every individual rule change event, nor does it identify who made the change. Option B is wrong because AWS Config evaluates resource configurations and can detect drift, but it does not natively trigger real-time notifications on every security group rule change; it evaluates on a schedule or on configuration changes, and while it can invoke a Lambda function, it is not the direct, event-driven approach for per-change notifications and does not inherently capture the identity of the user making the change. Option D is wrong because VPC Flow Logs capture network traffic metadata (source/destination IP, ports, protocol) and do not log API-level changes to security group rules; they are used for traffic analysis, not for auditing configuration changes.

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417
MCQeasy

A company is using AWS CloudTrail to log API calls. They want to ensure that log files are encrypted at rest and that only authorized users can access them. Which combination of actions should they take?

A.Use SSE-KMS with a customer managed key and allow CloudTrail to use the key.
B.Disable public access to the S3 bucket and enable versioning.
C.Enable default encryption (SSE-S3) on the S3 bucket and attach a bucket policy that restricts access to authorized IAM principals.
D.Enable SSE-C on the S3 bucket and provide the encryption key in each API call.
AnswerC

SSE-S3 encrypts logs at rest, and bucket policy controls access.

Why this answer

Option A is correct because enabling SSE-S3 provides encryption at rest, and a bucket policy with principal conditions restricts access. Option B is wrong because CloudTrail does not natively integrate with KMS for SSE-C. Option C is wrong because SSE-C requires managing your own keys.

Option D is wrong because disabling public access alone does not encrypt the logs.

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418
Multi-Selectmedium

Which TWO actions improve the security of an AWS account's root user? (Choose two.)

Select 2 answers
A.Create an IAM user with administrative privileges and use it for daily tasks.
B.Enable multi-factor authentication (MFA) on the root user.
C.Share the root user password with the security team.
D.Set a strong password for the root user.
E.Generate an Access Key for the root user and use it for programmatic access.
AnswersA, B

This follows the principle of least privilege and reduces root user usage.

Why this answer

Options A and D are correct. Enabling MFA on the root user is a critical security best practice. Creating an IAM admin user and not using the root user for daily tasks reduces exposure.

Option B is wrong because a strong password alone is insufficient; MFA is also needed. Option C is wrong because sharing the password is insecure. Option E is wrong because the Access Key is not needed and should be avoided.

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419
MCQhard

A company is using AWS Client VPN for remote access. They want to ensure that only clients with a valid client certificate can connect, and that traffic is routed through a centralized inspection VPC. The VPN endpoint is configured with mutual authentication using server and client certificates. The route table in the VPN VPC has a default route pointing to an AWS Network Firewall endpoint in the inspection VPC. Users report that they can connect to the VPN but cannot access any internal resources. The network engineer checks the Client VPN endpoint configuration and confirms that the authorization rules allow access to the internal CIDR (10.0.0.0/8). What is the most likely cause?

A.The route table in the VPN VPC has a default route (0.0.0.0/0) pointing to the Network Firewall, but the Network Firewall's route table needs a route back to the VPN VPC for the client CIDR, which is missing.
B.The client certificate is not associated with the same CA as the server certificate, causing TLS handshake failure.
C.The subnet route table in the VPN VPC does not have a route for the client CIDR (assigned by the VPN) pointing to the VPN endpoint's network interface.
D.The AWS Network Firewall in the inspection VPC is blocking traffic from the VPN client CIDR because it does not have a rule allowing it.
AnswerA

For traffic to flow, the inspection VPC must have a route back to the VPN VPC for the client CIDR. If the Network Firewall's route table (or the inspection VPC's route table) does not have a route for the client CIDR pointing to the VPN VPC's attachment (e.g., Transit Gateway), return traffic is dropped.

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420
Multi-Selecthard

A company uses AWS Transit Gateway to connect multiple VPCs and on-premises networks via VPN. They want to ensure that traffic between VPCs is inspected by a third-party firewall appliance deployed in a centralized inspection VPC. Which THREE steps are required? (Choose three.)

Select 3 answers
A.Configure the firewall appliance to perform stateful inspection and route traffic back to the Transit Gateway.
B.Set up VPC peering between the inspection VPC and each spoke VPC.
C.Create Transit Gateway route tables that propagate routes from the inspection VPC and associate them with the other VPC attachments.
D.Establish an AWS Direct Connect connection between the inspection VPC and the on-premises network.
E.Attach the inspection VPC to the Transit Gateway.
AnswersA, C, E

Correct: Firewall must inspect and forward traffic.

Why this answer

Option A is correct because the inspection VPC must be attached to the Transit Gateway. Option B is correct because route tables must direct inter-VPC traffic to the inspection VPC. Option C is correct because the firewall appliance must be configured to inspect and forward traffic.

Option D is wrong because Direct Connect is not required; VPN is already used. Option E is wrong because VPC Peering is not used with Transit Gateway; Transit Gateway replaces peering.

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421
Multi-Selecthard

Which THREE components are required to establish a site-to-site VPN connection between an on-premises network and AWS? (Choose 3)

Select 3 answers
A.A VPN tunnel between the customer gateway and the virtual private gateway
B.A VPC endpoint for the VPN service
C.An AWS Direct Connect dedicated line
D.A virtual private gateway (VGW) or transit gateway
E.A customer gateway device
AnswersA, D, E

The encrypted connection.

Why this answer

Options A, C, and D are correct: virtual private gateway (or transit gateway), customer gateway device, and VPN tunnel. Option B is wrong because Direct Connect is separate. Option E is wrong because VPC endpoint is for AWS services.

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