Automatically Enforce AWS Config Rules in New Member Accounts Using SCP and Conformance Packs
A company has multiple AWS accounts managed using AWS Organizations. The security team wants to enforce that all new accounts automatically have a specific AWS Config rule enabled to prohibit public S3 bucket access. Which solution requires the least operational overhead?
⚠ Common exam trap
Test-takers frequently think SCPs can enforce configuration standards, but SCPs only control API actions and cannot create or enable resources like Config rules. The correct approach is to use a deployment mechanism such as CloudFormation StackSets to automatically deploy the rule across 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
✓
Use AWS CloudFormation StackSets to deploy the AWS Config rule to all accounts.
AWS CloudFormation StackSets can deploy the AWS Config rule to all accounts in the organization. With automatic deployment enabled, new accounts will automatically receive the rule, requiring minimal operational overhead after initial setup. Option B is incorrect because it only sets up an aggregator and does not enable any rule. Option C is incorrect because SCPs cannot automatically enable Config rules; they only control API actions. Option D is incorrect because it denies the s3:PutBucketPublicAccessBlock action but does not enable the required Config rule, failing to meet the explicit requirement.
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 CloudFormation StackSets to deploy the AWS Config rule to all accounts.
Why this is correct
CloudFormation StackSets deploys the Config rule across all accounts in AWS Organizations from one template, automatically applying it to new accounts. This centralised, automated rollout requires the least ongoing operational overhead compared with manual per-account configuration.
- ✗
Enable AWS Config in the management account and use an aggregator for all accounts.
Why it's wrong here
A Config aggregator only centralises configuration and compliance data from source accounts; it does not enable the Config rule in each account. Aggregators are tempting for cross-account compliance visibility, and would be correct when the requirement is a consolidated dashboard rather than automatic rule deployment in new accounts.
- ✗
Use an SCP to automatically enable the AWS Config rule in all accounts.
Why it's wrong here
SCPs are IAM policy guardrails that allow or deny API actions; they cannot enable AWS Config rules or create configuration resources. SCPs are tempting because they enforce policy across every account in an organisation, which is the correct approach when the goal is blocking specific API calls rather than provisioning Config.
- ✗
Use an SCP to deny the s3:PutBucketPublicAccessBlock action if a specific tag is not present.
Why it's wrong here
SCPs cannot evaluate tag presence to conditionally deny s3:PutBucketPublicAccessBlock, and denying that action prevents blocking public access rather than enabling a Config rule. Tag-conditioned SCPs are tempting for attribute-based guardrails, and would fit when the requirement is denying actions on untagged resources.
Quick reference
AWS S3 Storage Class Comparison
| Storage Class | Min Duration | Retrieval | Use Case |
|---|---|---|---|
| S3 Standard | None | Immediate | Frequently accessed data |
| S3 Standard-IA | 30 days | Immediate | Infrequent access, rapid retrieval |
| S3 One Zone-IA | 30 days | Immediate | Non-critical infrequent data |
| S3 Intelligent-Tiering | None | Immediate–hours | Unknown or changing access patterns |
| S3 Glacier Instant | 90 days | Milliseconds | Archive with instant retrieval |
| S3 Glacier Flexible | 90 days | Minutes–hours | Archive, flexible retrieval |
| S3 Glacier Deep Archive | 180 days | Hours | Long-term compliance archive |
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.