SAP-C02 Practice Question: Design Solutions for Organizational Complexity
A company is designing a multi-account strategy using AWS Organizations. The security team requires that all API calls to create or modify IAM roles are logged and alerted. Which TWO steps should be taken to meet this requirement?
⚠ Common exam trap
A common mix-up: candidates confuse AWS Config (which records configuration changes) with CloudTrail (which records API calls), leading them to select Option A instead of the correct combination of CloudTrail and CloudWatch Logs metric filters.
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 CloudWatch Logs metric filter and alarm to detect IAM role creation/modification events.
A CloudWatch Logs metric filter can parse CloudTrail logs for specific API calls (e.g., CreateRole, UpdateAssumeRolePolicy) and trigger an alarm when IAM role creation or modification events occur. Option D is correct because enabling CloudTrail management events with CloudWatch Logs integration in all accounts ensures that all IAM role API calls are captured in a centralized log group, which is a prerequisite for the metric filter and alarm to work.
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 AWS Config to record IAM role changes and stream to CloudWatch Logs.
Why it's wrong here
Config records resource changes, not API calls.
- ✓
Create a CloudWatch Logs metric filter and alarm to detect IAM role creation/modification events.
Why this is correct
Metric filters can parse logs and trigger alarms.
- ✗
Create an SCP that denies IAM role creation and modification.
Why it's wrong here
SCPs deny actions, they don't log them.
- ✓
Enable CloudTrail management events with CloudWatch Logs integration in all accounts.
Why this is correct
CloudTrail logs IAM actions to CloudWatch Logs.
- ✗
Enable IAM Access Analyzer to monitor IAM role usage.
Why it's wrong here
Access Analyzer analyzes policies, not logs.
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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.