- A
Enable CloudTrail with a trail that logs to a bucket in a separate account, and use IAM policies to deny CloudTrail deletion.
Why wrong: IAM policies are not sufficient.
- B
Create an SCP that denies cloudtrail:DeleteTrail and cloudtrail:StopLogging, and rely on S3 versioning to recover deleted logs.
Why wrong: SCP does not protect the S3 bucket.
- C
Create an IAM policy in each account that denies CloudTrail deletion and attach it to all IAM users and roles.
Why wrong: Not centralized; may not cover all principals.
- D
Create an SCP that denies cloudtrail:DeleteTrail, cloudtrail:StopLogging, and s3:DeleteObject on the log bucket. Also attach a bucket policy to the log bucket that denies s3:DeleteObject for all principals except the management account.
Combines SCP and bucket policy for comprehensive protection.
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 company uses AWS Organizations and wants to implement a policy that prevents any account from disabling AWS CloudTrail or deleting CloudTrail log files. The solution must be enforceable across all accounts. Which combination of actions should be taken?
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
Create an SCP that denies cloudtrail:DeleteTrail, cloudtrail:StopLogging, and s3:DeleteObject on the log bucket. Also attach a bucket policy to the log bucket that denies s3:DeleteObject for all principals except the management account.
Option D is correct because it combines an SCP that denies cloudtrail:DeleteTrail, cloudtrail:StopLogging, and s3:DeleteObject on the log bucket with a bucket policy that denies s3:DeleteObject for all principals except the management account. This layered approach ensures that even if an account has full administrative permissions, the SCP blocks the CloudTrail and S3 actions, while the bucket policy prevents any account (including the root user) from deleting log files, with the management account as the sole exception for recovery purposes.
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.
- ✗
Enable CloudTrail with a trail that logs to a bucket in a separate account, and use IAM policies to deny CloudTrail deletion.
Why it's wrong here
IAM policies are not sufficient.
- ✗
Create an SCP that denies cloudtrail:DeleteTrail and cloudtrail:StopLogging, and rely on S3 versioning to recover deleted logs.
Why it's wrong here
SCP does not protect the S3 bucket.
- ✗
Create an IAM policy in each account that denies CloudTrail deletion and attach it to all IAM users and roles.
Why it's wrong here
Not centralized; may not cover all principals.
- ✓
Create an SCP that denies cloudtrail:DeleteTrail, cloudtrail:StopLogging, and s3:DeleteObject on the log bucket. Also attach a bucket policy to the log bucket that denies s3:DeleteObject for all principals except the management account.
Why this is correct
Combines SCP and bucket policy for comprehensive protection.
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 assume an SCP alone is sufficient to protect CloudTrail logs, forgetting that SCPs do not protect the S3 bucket where logs are stored, and that IAM policies in individual accounts are ineffective against root user actions or privilege escalation.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
SCPs in AWS Organizations act as a guardrail that applies to all IAM users, roles, and the root user in member accounts, but they do not affect the management account. The bucket policy on the log bucket uses a Deny effect with a condition key like 'aws:PrincipalArn' to explicitly allow only the management account's role to delete objects, ensuring that even if an SCP is bypassed (e.g., via direct S3 API calls from a service), the bucket policy enforces the restriction. This dual-layer approach is a best practice for protecting audit logs, as recommended by AWS security documentation.
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.
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 — study guide chapter
Learn the concepts, then practise the questions
- →
Design Solutions for Organizational Complexity practice questions
Targeted practice on this topic area only
- →
All SAP-C02 questions
1,746 questions across all exam domains
- →
AWS Certified Solutions Architect Professional SAP-C02 study guide
Full concept coverage aligned to exam objectives
- →
SAP-C02 practice test guide
How to use practice tests most effectively before exam day
Related practice questions
Related SAP-C02 practice-question pages
Use these pages to review the topic behind this question. This is how one missed question becomes focused revision.
Design Solutions for Organizational Complexity practice questions
Practise SAP-C02 questions linked to Design Solutions for Organizational Complexity.
Design for New Solutions practice questions
Practise SAP-C02 questions linked to Design for New Solutions.
Continuous Improvement for Existing Solutions practice questions
Practise SAP-C02 questions linked to Continuous Improvement for Existing Solutions.
Accelerate Workload Migration and Modernization practice questions
Practise SAP-C02 questions linked to Accelerate Workload Migration and Modernization.
SAA-C03 VPC practice questions
Practise SAP-C02 questions linked to SAA-C03 VPC.
SAA-C03 S3 lifecycle policy questions
Practise SAP-C02 questions linked to SAA-C03 S3 lifecycle policy questions.
SAA-C03 RDS Multi-AZ questions
Practise SAP-C02 questions linked to SAA-C03 RDS Multi-AZ questions.
SAA-C03 IAM policy practice questions
Practise SAP-C02 questions linked to SAA-C03 IAM policy.
SAA-C03 Route 53 failover questions
Practise SAP-C02 questions linked to SAA-C03 Route 53 failover questions.
SAA-C03 CloudFront practice questions
Practise SAP-C02 questions linked to SAA-C03 CloudFront.
SAA-C03 NAT gateway questions
Practise SAP-C02 questions linked to SAA-C03 NAT gateway questions.
SAA-C03 VPC endpoint questions
Practise SAP-C02 questions linked to SAA-C03 VPC endpoint questions.
Practice this exam
Start a free SAP-C02 practice session
Short sessions build daily habit. Longer sessions build exam-day stamina. Try a timed session to simulate real conditions.
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: Create an SCP that denies cloudtrail:DeleteTrail, cloudtrail:StopLogging, and s3:DeleteObject on the log bucket. Also attach a bucket policy to the log bucket that denies s3:DeleteObject for all principals except the management account. — Option D is correct because it combines an SCP that denies cloudtrail:DeleteTrail, cloudtrail:StopLogging, and s3:DeleteObject on the log bucket with a bucket policy that denies s3:DeleteObject for all principals except the management account. This layered approach ensures that even if an account has full administrative permissions, the SCP blocks the CloudTrail and S3 actions, while the bucket policy prevents any account (including the root user) from deleting log files, with the management account as the sole exception for recovery purposes.
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.
About these practice questions
Courseiva creates original exam-style practice questions with explanations and wrong-answer analysis. It does not publish real exam questions, exam dumps, or protected exam content. Learn why practice questions differ from exam dumps →
Keep practising
More SAP-C02 practice questions
- A company wants to automate the migration of on-premises servers to AWS. The migration plan includes discovery, assessme…
- A company is using AWS Organizations with hundreds of accounts. The central IT team needs to deploy a common set of AWS…
- A multinational company operates a multi-account AWS environment using AWS Organizations. The security team needs to enf…
- A company has a multi-account AWS environment with a centralized logging account. The security team needs to analyze VPC…
- A company has multiple AWS accounts and wants to centralize logging of all API calls. Which TWO services should be used…
- Match each AWS compute service to its use case.
Last reviewed: Jul 4, 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.
Question Discussion
Share a tip, memory trick, or ask about the reasoning behind this question. Do not post real exam questions, leaked content, braindumps, or copyrighted exam material. Comments are moderated and may be removed without notice.
Sign in to join the discussion.