- A
Create an AWS Service Catalog portfolio that restricts bucket creation to encrypted buckets only.
Why wrong: Service Catalog controls provisioning of products, not direct S3 API calls.
- B
Use IAM policies in each account to deny PutBucketEncryption actions that do not specify the required KMS key.
Why wrong: IAM policies are account-specific and cannot enforce across all accounts centrally.
- C
Enable AWS CloudTrail and create a CloudWatch Events rule to automatically remediate non-compliant buckets.
Why wrong: CloudTrail is for logging, not enforcement; remediation would still require additional automation.
- D
Apply an SCP to deny s3:PutBucketEncryption with any key other than the required KMS key, and use AWS Config rules to detect and remediate existing non-compliant buckets.
SCPs enforce at the organizational level; AWS Config detects violations for remediation.
Quick Answer
The correct answer is to apply an SCP to deny s3:PutBucketEncryption with any key other than the required KMS key, and use AWS Config rules to detect and remediate existing non-compliant buckets. This combination works because Service Control Policies operate at the organizational level to proactively block any bucket creation or update that doesn’t use the specific KMS key, while AWS Config provides detective and automated remediation for buckets that were created before the policy was applied or in accounts outside the SCP’s immediate scope. On the AWS Certified Solutions Architect Professional SAP-C02 exam, this scenario tests your understanding of defense-in-depth across accounts—SCPs for preventive control and Config for corrective control. A common trap is choosing IAM policies alone, which cannot enforce encryption across hundreds of accounts, or CloudTrail, which only logs events without enforcement. Memory tip: “SCP to stop it, Config to fix it.”
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 multinational corporation uses AWS Organizations with hundreds of accounts. The security team requires that all Amazon S3 buckets across the organization be encrypted with a specific AWS KMS key from the security account. Which combination of controls should be implemented to enforce this requirement?
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 deny s3:PutBucketEncryption with any key other than the required KMS key, and use AWS Config rules to detect and remediate existing non-compliant buckets.
Option D is correct because SCPs can deny the creation of S3 buckets without encryption or with the wrong KMS key, and AWS Config rules can detect non-compliant existing buckets for remediation. Option A is wrong because IAM policies alone cannot enforce encryption at the organizational level across multiple accounts. Option B is wrong because AWS CloudTrail only logs, not enforces. Option C is wrong because AWS Service Catalog is not designed for this purpose.
Key principle: NAT direction and interface roles matter as much as the IP address mapping. Inside/outside designation controls which traffic is translated.
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 an AWS Service Catalog portfolio that restricts bucket creation to encrypted buckets only.
Why it's wrong here
Service Catalog controls provisioning of products, not direct S3 API calls.
- ✗
Use IAM policies in each account to deny PutBucketEncryption actions that do not specify the required KMS key.
Why it's wrong here
IAM policies are account-specific and cannot enforce across all accounts centrally.
- ✗
Enable AWS CloudTrail and create a CloudWatch Events rule to automatically remediate non-compliant buckets.
Why it's wrong here
CloudTrail is for logging, not enforcement; remediation would still require additional automation.
- ✓
Apply an SCP to deny s3:PutBucketEncryption with any key other than the required KMS key, and use AWS Config rules to detect and remediate existing non-compliant buckets.
Why this is correct
SCPs enforce at the organizational level; AWS Config detects violations for remediation.
Related concept
Static NAT maps one inside address to one outside address.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: NAT rules depend on direction and matching traffic
NAT is not only about the public address. The inside/outside interface roles and the ACL or rule that matches traffic are just as important.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
NAT questions usually test address translation, overload/PAT behaviour, static mappings and whether the right traffic is being translated. Read the interface direction and address terms carefully.
KKey Concepts to Remember
- Static NAT maps one inside address to one outside address.
- PAT allows many inside hosts to share one public address using ports.
- Inside local and inside global describe the private and translated addresses.
- NAT ACLs identify traffic for translation, not always security filtering.
TExam Day Tips
- Identify inside and outside interfaces first.
- Check whether the scenario needs static NAT, dynamic NAT or PAT.
- Do not confuse NAT matching ACLs with normal packet-filtering intent.
Key takeaway
NAT direction and interface roles matter as much as the IP address mapping. Inside/outside designation controls which traffic is translated.
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.
Review the four NAT address types (inside local, inside global, outside local, outside global), PAT port overload, and static vs dynamic NAT use cases. Then practise related SAP-C02 NAT questions on configuration and troubleshooting.
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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 — Static NAT maps one inside address to one outside address..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Apply an SCP to deny s3:PutBucketEncryption with any key other than the required KMS key, and use AWS Config rules to detect and remediate existing non-compliant buckets. — Option D is correct because SCPs can deny the creation of S3 buckets without encryption or with the wrong KMS key, and AWS Config rules can detect non-compliant existing buckets for remediation. Option A is wrong because IAM policies alone cannot enforce encryption at the organizational level across multiple accounts. Option B is wrong because AWS CloudTrail only logs, not enforces. Option C is wrong because AWS Service Catalog is not designed for this purpose.
What should I do if I get this SAP-C02 question wrong?
Review the four NAT address types (inside local, inside global, outside local, outside global), PAT port overload, and static vs dynamic NAT use cases. Then practise related SAP-C02 NAT questions on configuration and troubleshooting.
What is the key concept behind this question?
Static NAT maps one inside address to one outside address.
About these practice questions
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Same concept, more angles
1 more ways this is tested on SAP-C02
These questions test the same concept from different angles. Work through them to make sure you can recognise it however the exam phrases it.
Variation 1. 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.)
hard- A.Use an IAM policy to deny s3:PutBucketEncryption without encryption settings
- B.Use AWS Trusted Advisor to check bucket encryption and send alerts
- ✓ C.Use a CloudWatch Events rule to trigger a Lambda function that enables encryption on any new bucket
- ✓ D.Use an SCP to deny PutBucketEncryption without encryption settings
- E.Use AWS Config with a managed rule to detect non-compliant buckets and an auto-remediation action
Why C: 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.
Last reviewed: Jun 20, 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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