SAP-C02 Practice Question: Design Solutions for Organizational Complexity
A company is migrating to AWS and wants to set up a multi-account structure using AWS Organizations. The security team requires that all accounts be part of an organization and that any attempt to leave the organization be blocked. Additionally, the company wants to prevent the use of the root user in member accounts for daily operations. What should they do?
⚠ Common exam trap
Candidates often assume IAM policies can control root user behavior, but root user is not subject to IAM policies; only SCPs (or a strong password policy with MFA) can restrict root user actions, and SCPs are the only way to block the LeaveOrganization action across all accounts.
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
✓
Apply an SCP to the root OU that denies the organizations:LeaveOrganization action and denies the root user's ability to perform actions.
An SCP attached to the root OU can deny the organizations:LeaveOrganization action for all accounts in the organization, preventing any account from leaving. Additionally, an SCP can deny all actions for the root user in member accounts by using a condition key such as "aws:PrincipalType": "Root", which effectively blocks root user operations without affecting IAM users or roles. This approach enforces both requirements centrally without requiring per-account configuration.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✓
Apply an SCP to the root OU that denies the organizations:LeaveOrganization action and denies the root user's ability to perform actions.
Why this is correct
SCPs apply to root user and all IAM entities; can block leave and restrict root.
- ✗
Create an IAM policy that denies the organizations:LeaveOrganization action and attach it to all IAM users.
Why it's wrong here
Root user is not affected by IAM policies.
- ✗
Use AWS Config rules to detect when an account leaves the organization and automatically rejoin it.
Why it's wrong here
Config rules cannot automatically rejoin accounts.
- ✗
Use AWS CloudTrail to monitor and alert on root user activity and organizations:LeaveOrganization.
Why it's wrong here
Monitoring does not prevent actions.
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JA
Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
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