The correct answer is to use S3 Object Lambda with AWS CloudTrail, as this combination directly addresses the need for fine-grained tag-based access control and auditability. S3 Object Lambda intercepts GET requests with custom Lambda code, allowing you to inspect object tags and dynamically redact, filter, or deny access based on those tags—enforcing granular permissions without modifying the underlying data. AWS CloudTrail then logs every S3 Object Lambda invocation and S3 API call, providing the required audit trail for compliance. On the AWS Certified Solutions Architect Professional SAP-C02 exam, this scenario tests your understanding of how to extend S3’s native access controls with serverless compute for custom authorization logic, often appearing as a trap where candidates mistakenly choose S3 bucket policies or IAM conditions alone, which cannot evaluate tags at the object level during GET requests. Memory tip: think “Lambda intercepts, CloudTrail records” to remember that S3 Object Lambda is the enforcement point and CloudTrail is the audit log.
SAP-C02 Design for New Solutions Practice Question
This SAP-C02 practice question tests your understanding of design for new solutions. 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 is designing a data lake on Amazon S3 for analytics. The data is ingested from multiple sources and must be encrypted at rest. The company requires the ability to audit access to the data lake and enforce fine-grained access control based on tags. Which solution should the company choose?
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Use S3 Object Lambda with AWS CloudTrail
Option D is correct because S3 Object Lambda allows you to add custom code to S3 GET requests, enabling fine-grained access control based on tags by dynamically modifying the data returned. AWS CloudTrail provides the required audit trail by logging all API calls, including those to S3 Object Lambda, ensuring full auditability of access to the data lake.
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 S3 bucket policies with condition keys for tags
Why it's wrong here
Bucket policies can check object tags but not enforce fine-grained access control per object.
✗
Use S3 server-side encryption with customer-provided keys (SSE-C) and bucket policies
Why it's wrong here
SSE-C does not provide tag-based access control.
✗
Use AWS Lake Formation with column-level permissions
Why it's wrong here
Lake Formation does not support tag-based access control natively.
✓
Use S3 Object Lambda with AWS CloudTrail
Why this is correct
S3 Object Lambda can implement tag-based access logic and CloudTrail provides auditing.
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 often assume AWS Lake Formation or S3 bucket policies alone can provide both fine-grained tag-based access control and auditing, but they overlook that S3 Object Lambda combined with CloudTrail is the only option that directly enables custom, tag-driven data transformations at read time with full audit logging.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
S3 Object Lambda works by intercepting S3 GET requests and invoking an AWS Lambda function that can modify the returned data based on object tags, user identity, or other context, enabling dynamic redaction or filtering. CloudTrail logs all S3 Object Lambda invocations and S3 API calls, providing a complete audit trail that can be analyzed for compliance. This approach is particularly useful in scenarios where data must be masked or filtered based on user attributes (e.g., only showing rows tagged with a specific cost center) while maintaining a single copy of data in S3.
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.
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 for New Solutions — This question tests Design for New Solutions — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Use S3 Object Lambda with AWS CloudTrail — Option D is correct because S3 Object Lambda allows you to add custom code to S3 GET requests, enabling fine-grained access control based on tags by dynamically modifying the data returned. AWS CloudTrail provides the required audit trail by logging all API calls, including those to S3 Object Lambda, ensuring full auditability of access to the data lake.
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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