- A
Create IAM policies in each account to enforce encryption
Why wrong: IAM policies are per-account and cannot be centrally enforced across all accounts.
- B
Attach a service control policy (SCP) to the root that denies S3 actions unless encryption conditions are met
SCPs can centrally deny operations that do not meet encryption requirements across all accounts in the organization.
- C
Use AWS Config rules with auto-remediation in each account
Why wrong: Config rules can detect non-compliance but auto-remediation may not cover all scenarios and requires per-account setup.
- D
Deploy a CloudFormation StackSet that creates S3 buckets with encryption
Why wrong: StackSets can create compliant buckets but cannot enforce existing buckets or prevent non-compliant creation.
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 is deploying a multi-account AWS environment using AWS Organizations. The security team requires that all S3 buckets across all accounts be encrypted with a specific AWS KMS key managed by the security account. Which solution should the company implement to enforce this policy across the organization?
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
Attach a service control policy (SCP) to the root that denies S3 actions unless encryption conditions are met
A service control policy (SCP) attached to the root of the AWS Organizations hierarchy can deny S3 PutObject or CreateBucket actions unless the request includes the specific KMS key ID (via the s3:x-amz-server-side-encryption-aws-kms-key-id condition key). This enforces encryption centrally across all accounts, as SCPs are inherited by all member accounts and cannot be overridden by IAM policies within those accounts.
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.
- ✗
Create IAM policies in each account to enforce encryption
Why it's wrong here
IAM policies are per-account and cannot be centrally enforced across all accounts.
- ✓
Attach a service control policy (SCP) to the root that denies S3 actions unless encryption conditions are met
Why this is correct
SCPs can centrally deny operations that do not meet encryption requirements across all accounts in the organization.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
- ✗
Use AWS Config rules with auto-remediation in each account
Why it's wrong here
Config rules can detect non-compliance but auto-remediation may not cover all scenarios and requires per-account setup.
- ✗
Deploy a CloudFormation StackSet that creates S3 buckets with encryption
Why it's wrong here
StackSets can create compliant buckets but cannot enforce existing buckets or prevent non-compliant creation.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is that candidates often choose AWS Config rules (Option C) thinking they provide preventive enforcement, but Config rules are detective and reactive, not preventive, whereas SCPs proactively block non-compliant API calls before the resource is created.
Trap categories for this question
Scenario analysis trap
Config rules can detect non-compliance but auto-remediation may not cover all scenarios and requires per-account setup.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
SCPs use AWS Identity and Access Management (IAM) policy language with condition keys like s3:x-amz-server-side-encryption and s3:x-amz-server-side-encryption-aws-kms-key-id to deny requests that do not specify the required KMS key. The SCP is evaluated before any IAM or resource-based policies, meaning even a full-admin user in a member account cannot bypass the restriction. This approach is effective for centralized governance because SCPs are applied at the organization root or OU level and propagate to all accounts without requiring per-account 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 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.
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 |
What to study next
Got this wrong? Here's your next step.
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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: Attach a service control policy (SCP) to the root that denies S3 actions unless encryption conditions are met — A service control policy (SCP) attached to the root of the AWS Organizations hierarchy can deny S3 PutObject or CreateBucket actions unless the request includes the specific KMS key ID (via the s3:x-amz-server-side-encryption-aws-kms-key-id condition key). This enforces encryption centrally across all accounts, as SCPs are inherited by all member accounts and cannot be overridden by IAM policies within those accounts.
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: Jul 4, 2026
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