The answer is to use AWS Transit Gateway with VPN attachments between the central networking account and each member account VPC. This solution satisfies the encryption-in-transit requirement because the VPN attachments establish IPsec tunnels, which natively encrypt all traffic as it traverses the Transit Gateway, while the centralized routing design forces all inter-account traffic to pass through the central networking account, preventing any direct account-to-account access. On the AWS Certified Solutions Architect Professional SAP-C02 exam, this scenario tests your understanding of how to combine Transit Gateway’s hub-and-spoke architecture with VPN-based encryption to meet compliance mandates, often appearing as a trap where candidates mistakenly choose Transit Gateway peering—which does not encrypt traffic—or VPC peering, which allows direct access. Remember the key distinction: Transit Gateway attachments alone provide no encryption; you must explicitly add VPN attachments for encrypted transit between VPCs across accounts. Memory tip: “VPN on the Transit Gateway means encryption on the way.”
SAP-C02 Practice Question: Design Solutions for Organizational Complexity
This SAP-C02 practice question tests your understanding of design solutions for organizational complexity. The scenario asks you to isolate a root cause — eliminate options that address a different problem before choosing. 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 company has a multi-account AWS environment with a central networking account that hosts all VPCs and a shared services account that hosts common resources like directory services. The company wants to allow all accounts to use the same VPC for their workloads instead of creating separate VPCs. The security team requires that traffic between accounts is encrypted in transit and that accounts cannot directly access each other's resources without going through the central networking account. The network team proposes using AWS Transit Gateway with inter-region peering and VPC attachments. However, the security team is concerned about compliance with encryption requirements. What should the network team do to meet the requirements?
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Use AWS Transit Gateway with VPN attachments between the central networking account and each member account VPC.
Option D is correct because AWS Transit Gateway with VPN attachments enables encrypted traffic between the central networking account and each member account VPC using IPsec tunnels. This satisfies the encryption-in-transit requirement while ensuring all traffic routes through the central networking account, preventing direct account-to-account access. Transit Gateway also allows all accounts to share a single VPC for workloads without creating separate VPCs.
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 AWS Client VPN to connect each account to the central VPC.
Why it's wrong here
Not for VPC-to-VPC connectivity.
✗
Use VPC Peering between the central VPC and each member account VPC.
Why it's wrong here
No encryption in transit.
✗
Use AWS Direct Connect between accounts.
Why it's wrong here
Does not encrypt by default.
✓
Use AWS Transit Gateway with VPN attachments between the central networking account and each member account VPC.
Why this is correct
Provides IPsec encryption and centralized routing.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is that candidates may assume VPC Peering or Direct Connect inherently meet encryption requirements, but VPC Peering does not encrypt traffic and Direct Connect requires an additional VPN layer for encryption, while Transit Gateway VPN attachments provide both encryption and centralized routing control.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
AWS Transit GatewayVPN attachments use IPsec tunnels with AES-256 encryption and SHA-256 hashing, ensuring traffic between the central networking account and member accounts is encrypted. The Transit Gateway acts as a hub, so all inter-VPC traffic must traverse it, preventing direct communication between member accounts. This setup also supports dynamic routing via BGP, allowing efficient route propagation without manual configuration.
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 company's IT admin needs to give a contractor read-only access to production logs without sharing account credentials. Using role-based access control (RBAC) and temporary scoped permissions — not a permanent shared password — is the correct pattern. Questions like this test whether you can apply least-privilege access across cloud identity services.
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.
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 AWS Transit Gateway with VPN attachments between the central networking account and each member account VPC. — Option D is correct because AWS Transit Gateway with VPN attachments enables encrypted traffic between the central networking account and each member account VPC using IPsec tunnels. This satisfies the encryption-in-transit requirement while ensuring all traffic routes through the central networking account, preventing direct account-to-account access. Transit Gateway also allows all accounts to share a single VPC for workloads without creating separate VPCs.
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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Question Discussion
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