The answer is to use an SCP that denies ec2:CreateVolume when the encrypted condition is false. This is the strongest preventive control because Service Control Policies operate at the AWS Organizations level, allowing you to block the creation of unencrypted EBS volumes before they can even be attempted, regardless of the IAM permissions of the user or role. On the SAA-C03 exam, this question tests your ability to distinguish between preventive controls (like SCPs) and detective controls (like AWS Config rules), with the common trap being to choose a detective solution that only alerts after the fact. Remember that SCPs enforce a boundary that cannot be overridden by account-level permissions, making them the most effective way to prevent unencrypted EBS volumes SCP-wide. Memory tip: SCPs are the "bouncer at the door" — they deny entry before the action happens, while Config is the "security camera" that records what already occurred.
SAA-C03 Design Secure Architectures Practice Question
This SAA-C03 practice question tests your understanding of design secure architectures. The scenario asks you to isolate a root cause — eliminate options that address a different problem before choosing. 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 claims portal must ensure that only encrypted EBS volumes can be created in the account. What is the strongest preventive control?
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
Option C is correct because Service Control Policies (SCPs) are a preventive control that can deny the ec2:CreateVolume action when the encryption condition is false. This ensures that unencrypted EBS volumes cannot be created at all, enforcing encryption at the point of creation across the entire AWS account or organizational unit.
Key principle: Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
✗
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.
✓
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
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
✗
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 or Lambda remediation) with preventive controls, failing to recognize that only an SCP or IAM policy with a deny effect on the CreateVolume action can proactively block the creation of unencrypted volumes.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
SCPs are evaluated before any IAM policies, and when combined with the ec2:Encrypted condition key set to false, they block the CreateVolume API call entirely. This leverages the AWS Organizations policy evaluation model where an explicit deny in an SCP overrides any allow. In a real-world scenario, this prevents data-at-rest compliance violations in regulated environments like healthcare or finance, where unencrypted volumes could lead to audit failures.
KKey Concepts to Remember
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
Find the constraint that changes the correct option.
Eliminate answers that are true in general but not in this case.
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
Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
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.
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
Design Secure Architectures — This question tests Design Secure Architectures — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
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 — Option C is correct because Service Control Policies (SCPs) are a preventive control that can deny the ec2:CreateVolume action when the encryption condition is false. This ensures that unencrypted EBS volumes cannot be created at all, enforcing encryption at the point of creation across the entire AWS account or organizational unit.
What should I do if I get this SAA-C03 question wrong?
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
What is the key concept behind this question?
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
About these practice questions
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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 claims portal 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.
hard
A.Tag encrypted volumes after creation
B.Enable VPC Flow Logs
✓ C.Use an SCP that denies ec2:CreateVolume when the encrypted condition is false
D.Run a daily Lambda function to encrypt unencrypted volumes
Why C: Option C is correct because an SCP (Service Control Policy) at the AWS Organizations level can deny the ec2:CreateVolume API call when the encryption condition (aws:RequestTag/Encrypted or ec2:Encrypted) is false. This is a preventive control that blocks the creation of unencrypted volumes before they exist, and it requires no custom operational scripts, aligning with the design constraint.
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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.
Question Discussion
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