AWS Backup Cross-Account Management Account
A company is designing a cross-account backup strategy using AWS Backup. The backup policy must be centrally managed from the management account. Which TWO steps are required to implement this?
Quick Answer
The correct answer is to enable AWS Backup as a trusted service within AWS Organizations and then apply a backup policy to the organization from the management account. This works because enabling AWS Backup as a trusted service allows the service to create and manage the necessary cross-account IAM roles on your behalf, while the backup policy—a feature of AWS Organizations—is applied at the organization root, OU, or account level to enforce consistent backup rules across all member accounts. On the AWS Certified Solutions Architect Professional SAP-C02 exam, this scenario tests your understanding of centralized governance versus per-account configuration; a common trap is assuming the backup vault must reside in each member account, but it must actually be in the management account to serve as the single recovery point. Another frequent mistake is thinking IAM roles are created automatically—they are not; the trusted service integration handles that. Memory tip: think “Org policy + trusted service = central control,” and remember the vault stays in the management account.
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
✓
Create a backup vault in the management account and share it with member accounts.
Options C and E are correct. Option A is incorrect because IAM roles are not created automatically for AWS Backup; instead, the backup policy is applied via AWS Organizations. Option B is incorrect because a single backup policy can be applied to the entire organization or specific organizational units, not per account. Option D is incorrect because the backup vault should be in the management account, not in each member account. Option E is correct because enabling AWS Backup as a trusted service within AWS Organizations allows the management account to centrally manage backup policies across member accounts. Option C is correct because sharing the backup vault from the management account allows member accounts to store backups in the central vault.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Create IAM roles in each member account to allow AWS Backup to assume them.
Why it's wrong here
AWS Backup uses service-linked roles automatically.
- ✗
Create a separate backup policy for each member account.
Why it's wrong here
A single backup policy can apply to the entire organization.
- ✓
Create a backup vault in the management account and share it with member accounts.
Why this is correct
Allows member accounts to use the central vault.
- ✗
Create a backup vault in each member account and aggregate them using AWS Config.
Why it's wrong here
Defeats centralization.
- ✓
Enable AWS Backup as a trusted service within AWS Organizations.
Why this is correct
Required for centralized management.
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Same concept, more angles
1 more way this is tested on SAP-C02
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 company is designing a cross-account backup strategy using AWS Backup. They have a central backup account that needs to manage backups for multiple member accounts. What is the minimal set of permissions required?
medium- ✓ A.Create an IAM role in each member account that trusts the backup account and allows backup and restore actions.
- B.Create a customer managed key in the backup account and share it with member accounts.
- C.Grant the backup account full S3 access to member account buckets.
- D.Enable AWS Config in member accounts to track backup compliance.
Why A: AWS Backup requires cross-account IAM roles to delegate backup and restore permissions. The central backup account assumes an IAM role in each member account that has a trust policy allowing the backup account's IAM entity to perform backup and restore actions. This is the minimal set of permissions needed to manage backups across accounts without granting broader access.
JA
Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
This SAP-C02 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 SAP-C02 exam.