Question 822 of 1,040
Design Secure ArchitectureshardMultiple ChoiceObjective-mapped

SAA-C03 Design Secure Architectures Practice Question

This SAA-C03 practice question tests your understanding of design secure architectures. Match the stated requirement to the specific cloud service, access model, or configuration option — many options are valid in isolation but not for this scenario. A key principle to apply: sCPs define maximum available permissions for accounts in an AWS Organization.. 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 healthcare document service must ensure that only encrypted EBS volumes can be created in the account. What is the strongest preventive control? The design must avoid adding custom operational scripts.

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

Use an SCP that denies ec2:CreateVolume when the encrypted condition is false

AWS Organizations Service Control Policies (SCPs) provide a preventive guardrail that can deny the ec2:CreateVolume API call when the encryption condition is false, ensuring that no unencrypted EBS volumes can be created in the account. This is the strongest preventive control because it blocks the action at the API level before any resource is created, and it does not require custom scripts or post-creation remediation. The condition key ec2:Encrypted must be set to true in the SCP policy to enforce encryption at creation time.

Key principle: SCPs define maximum available permissions for accounts in an AWS Organization.

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 an SCP that denies ec2:CreateVolume when the encrypted condition is false

    Why this is correct

    An SCP can prevent noncompliant volume creation across accounts in an organization.

    Related concept

    SCPs define maximum available permissions for accounts in an AWS Organization.

  • Tag encrypted volumes after creation

    Why it's wrong here

    Tags identify resources but do not enforce encryption.

  • Enable VPC Flow Logs

    Why it's wrong here

    Flow Logs monitor network traffic and do not control EBS encryption.

  • Run a daily Lambda function to encrypt unencrypted volumes

    Why it's wrong here

    Reactive remediation leaves a window of exposure.

Common exam traps

Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword

The trap here is that candidates often confuse detective or corrective controls (like tagging, Lambda remediation, or logging) with preventive controls, and fail to recognize that SCPs can enforce encryption at the API level without custom scripts.

Detailed technical explanation

How to think about this question

SCPs use AWS Identity and Access Management (IAM) policy language with the ec2:Encrypted condition key to evaluate the encryption state of the volume at the time of the CreateVolume API call. The SCP is applied at the root or organizational unit (OU) level and overrides any IAM permissions within the account, making it a hard boundary that cannot be bypassed by account administrators. This approach aligns with the AWS Well-Architected Framework's security pillar by implementing preventive controls that enforce encryption by default.

KKey Concepts to Remember

  • SCPs define maximum available permissions for accounts in an AWS Organization.
  • SCPs are preventive controls, blocking actions before they occur.
  • SCPs are evaluated before IAM policies.
  • SCPs can use conditions to enforce specific resource configurations like encryption.

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

SCPs define maximum available permissions for accounts in an AWS Organization.

Real-world example

How this comes up in practice

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

Got this wrong? Here's your next step.

Review sCPs define maximum available permissions for accounts in an AWS Organization., then practise related SAA-C03 questions on the same topic to reinforce the concept.

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FAQ

Questions learners often ask

What does this SAA-C03 question test?

Design Secure Architectures — This question tests Design Secure Architectures — SCPs define maximum available permissions for accounts in an AWS Organization..

What is the correct answer to this question?

The correct answer is: Use an SCP that denies ec2:CreateVolume when the encrypted condition is false — AWS Organizations Service Control Policies (SCPs) provide a preventive guardrail that can deny the ec2:CreateVolume API call when the encryption condition is false, ensuring that no unencrypted EBS volumes can be created in the account. This is the strongest preventive control because it blocks the action at the API level before any resource is created, and it does not require custom scripts or post-creation remediation. The condition key ec2:Encrypted must be set to true in the SCP policy to enforce encryption at creation time.

What should I do if I get this SAA-C03 question wrong?

Review sCPs define maximum available permissions for accounts in an AWS Organization., then practise related SAA-C03 questions on the same topic to reinforce the concept.

What is the key concept behind this question?

SCPs define maximum available permissions for accounts in an AWS Organization.

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Last reviewed: Jun 11, 2026

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This SAA-C03 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 SAA-C03 exam.