- A
Use an IAM policy to deny s3:PutBucketEncryption without encryption settings
Why wrong: IAM policies are user-based, not account-wide; cannot enforce across all accounts in the organization.
- B
Use AWS Trusted Advisor to check bucket encryption and send alerts
Why wrong: Trusted Advisor only checks and alerts, does not enforce or remediate automatically.
- C
Use a CloudWatch Events rule to trigger a Lambda function that enables encryption on any new bucket
This remediates new buckets, but requires additional setup; combined with SCP it's effective for new buckets.
- D
Use an SCP to deny PutBucketEncryption without encryption settings
SCP can prevent creation of buckets without encryption, but does not remediate existing buckets.
- E
Use AWS Config with a managed rule to detect non-compliant buckets and an auto-remediation action
Why wrong: This would detect and remediate both existing and new buckets, but the question asks for two steps that together achieve the goal; SCP + Config auto-remediation is also valid, but SCP is more preventive.
SAP-C02 Practice Question: Design Solutions for Organizational Complexity
This SAP-C02 practice question tests your understanding of design solutions for organizational complexity. Match the stated requirement to the specific cloud service, access model, or configuration option — many options are valid in isolation but not for this scenario. 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 multinational corporation is using AWS Organizations with multiple accounts. The security team needs to enforce that all S3 buckets in the organization have server-side encryption enabled, and any new bucket created without encryption must be automatically remediated. Which TWO steps should the team take to achieve this? (Choose two.)
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 a CloudWatch Events rule to trigger a Lambda function that enables encryption on any new bucket
Option C is correct because a CloudWatch Events rule (now Amazon EventBridge) can detect the 'CreateBucket' API call and trigger an AWS Lambda function that automatically enables server-side encryption on the newly created bucket. This provides real-time, event-driven remediation without manual intervention, ensuring compliance immediately after bucket creation.
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.
- ✗
Use an IAM policy to deny s3:PutBucketEncryption without encryption settings
Why it's wrong here
IAM policies are user-based, not account-wide; cannot enforce across all accounts in the organization.
- ✗
Use AWS Trusted Advisor to check bucket encryption and send alerts
Why it's wrong here
Trusted Advisor only checks and alerts, does not enforce or remediate automatically.
- ✓
Use a CloudWatch Events rule to trigger a Lambda function that enables encryption on any new bucket
Why this is correct
This remediates new buckets, but requires additional setup; combined with SCP it's effective for new buckets.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
- ✓
Use an SCP to deny PutBucketEncryption without encryption settings
Why this is correct
SCP can prevent creation of buckets without encryption, but does not remediate existing buckets.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
- ✗
Use AWS Config with a managed rule to detect non-compliant buckets and an auto-remediation action
Why it's wrong here
This would detect and remediate both existing and new buckets, but the question asks for two steps that together achieve the goal; SCP + Config auto-remediation is also valid, but SCP is more preventive.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is that candidates often confuse IAM policies with SCPs, thinking an IAM deny policy can enforce encryption organization-wide, but SCPs are the correct tool for account-level restrictions in AWS Organizations, while IAM policies are user/role-specific and cannot prevent actions by the root user or service-linked roles.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
Service control policies (SCPs) in AWS Organizations can deny the s3:PutBucketEncryption action unless encryption settings are specified, effectively blocking bucket creation without encryption at the API level. This works by evaluating the request parameters against the SCP condition, and if encryption is missing, the request is denied before the bucket is created. Combining an SCP with an event-driven Lambda function (via EventBridge) provides both preventive and detective/reactive controls, covering scenarios where the SCP might be bypassed (e.g., by a service role or cross-account access).
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 media company stores terabytes of video archives that are accessed once a year for audit purposes. Moving these objects to a cold storage tier (Azure Archive, S3 Glacier, or Google Nearline) costs a fraction of hot storage. Questions like this test whether you understand storage tiers, access frequency tradeoffs, and retrieval latency requirements.
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.
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Design Solutions for Organizational Complexity — study guide chapter
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FAQ
Questions learners often ask
What does this SAP-C02 question test?
Design Solutions for Organizational Complexity — This question tests Design Solutions for Organizational Complexity — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Use a CloudWatch Events rule to trigger a Lambda function that enables encryption on any new bucket — Option C is correct because a CloudWatch Events rule (now Amazon EventBridge) can detect the 'CreateBucket' API call and trigger an AWS Lambda function that automatically enables server-side encryption on the newly created bucket. This provides real-time, event-driven remediation without manual intervention, ensuring compliance immediately after bucket creation.
What should I do if I get this SAP-C02 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.
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Last reviewed: Jun 24, 2026
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.
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