SAP-C02 Practice Question: Design Solutions for Organizational Complexity
A multinational corporation is migrating to AWS and needs to manage permissions across multiple accounts using AWS IAM Identity Center (successor to AWS SSO). The company has a central identity source in Microsoft Active Directory. They need to grant different levels of access to users based on their job function. Which combination of AWS services will provide the most scalable and maintainable solution?
⚠ Common exam trap
Watch out — candidates often choose Option A (permission sets per job function) because it seems straightforward, but they overlook the scalability and maintenance benefits of ABAC, which AWS explicitly recommends for large, dynamic environments with a central identity source.
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 attribute-based access control (ABAC) with IAM Identity Center and session tags from Active Directory.
It uses attribute-based access control (ABAC) with IAM Identity Center, which allows permissions to be dynamically granted based on user attributes (e.g., job function) passed as session tags from Active Directory. This approach scales seamlessly as users and accounts grow, since policies reference tags rather than individual users or groups, and it centralizes identity management without requiring per-account role updates.
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 a permission set in IAM Identity Center for each job function and assign to appropriate groups.
Why it's wrong here
This works but is less scalable as job functions change.
- ✗
Use AWS Organizations to attach SCPs that grant permissions based on user tags.
Why it's wrong here
SCPs cannot grant permissions; they only deny or allow.
- ✓
Use attribute-based access control (ABAC) with IAM Identity Center and session tags from Active Directory.
Why this is correct
ABAC with session tags allows permissions to be based on user attributes, simplifying management.
- ✗
Use IAM roles directly in each account and manage trust policies centrally.
Why it's wrong here
This does not scale well across many accounts.
Quick reference
Access Control Model Comparison
| Model | Acronym | Who Controls Access? | Best For |
|---|---|---|---|
| Discretionary Access Control | DAC | Resource owner | Small teams, file shares |
| Mandatory Access Control | MAC | System / security labels | Classified govt / military |
| Role-Based Access Control | RBAC | Administrator (via roles) | Enterprise environments |
| Attribute-Based Access Control | ABAC | Policy engine (user + resource attributes) | Fine-grained, dynamic policies |
| Rule-Based Access Control | RuBAC | System rules / ACLs | Firewall rules, network ACLs |
Go deeper
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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.