- A
Use the Amazon EC2 'Block public access' feature at the account level.
Why wrong: EC2 Block public access is not a feature; S3 has Block Public Access.
- B
Create an IAM policy that denies ec2:RunInstances if the instance is launched with a public IP and attach it to all IAM roles in production accounts.
Why wrong: IAM policies may not cover all scenarios (e.g., service-linked roles).
- C
Use AWS Config to detect instances with public IPs and automatically terminate them.
Why wrong: Detective/reactive, not preventive.
- D
Create a service control policy (SCP) that denies ec2:RunInstances if the request includes AssociatePublicIpAddress=true and attach it to the production OU.
SCPs are preventive and cannot be overridden by IAM policies within the account.
Question 495 of 1,746
Using SCPs to Prevent Public IPs on EC2 Instances in Production Accounts
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 company uses AWS Organizations with several OUs. The security team wants to enforce that EC2 instances in production accounts cannot have public IP addresses. The solution must be preventive and should not rely on developers remembering to follow guidelines. What should the security team do?
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 a service control policy (SCP) that denies ec2:RunInstances if the request includes AssociatePublicIpAddress=true and attach it to the production OU.
Option D is correct because a service control policy (SCP) attached to the production OU can deny the ec2:RunInstances action when the request includes the AssociatePublicIpAddress=true parameter. This is a preventive control that applies to all accounts in the OU, regardless of IAM permissions, and does not rely on developer compliance.
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 the Amazon EC2 'Block public access' feature at the account level.
Why it's wrong here
EC2 Block public access is not a feature; S3 has Block Public Access.
- ✗
Create an IAM policy that denies ec2:RunInstances if the instance is launched with a public IP and attach it to all IAM roles in production accounts.
Why it's wrong here
IAM policies may not cover all scenarios (e.g., service-linked roles).
- ✗
Use AWS Config to detect instances with public IPs and automatically terminate them.
Why it's wrong here
Detective/reactive, not preventive.
- ✓
Create a service control policy (SCP) that denies ec2:RunInstances if the request includes AssociatePublicIpAddress=true and attach it to the production OU.
Why this is correct
SCPs are preventive and cannot be overridden by IAM policies within the account.
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 confusing detective controls (AWS Config) or account-level features (Block public access) with preventive controls, and underestimating that IAM policies can be circumvented by privileged users or service-linked roles, whereas SCPs apply to all principals in the account.
Trap categories for this question
Scenario analysis trap
IAM policies may not cover all scenarios (e.g., service-linked roles).
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
SCPs in AWS Organizations use the same policy language as IAM but are applied at the OU or account level to restrict maximum permissions. The condition key ec2:AssociatePublicIpAddress evaluates to true when the launch request includes a public IP assignment, and the SCP's Deny effect overrides any allow from IAM policies, making it a true preventive guardrail. This approach is critical for compliance frameworks like PCI DSS that require no public exposure of production instances.
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 company's IT admin needs to give a contractor read-only access to production logs without sharing account credentials. Using role-based access control (RBAC) and temporary scoped permissions — not a permanent shared password — is the correct pattern. Questions like this test whether you can apply least-privilege access across cloud identity services.
What to study next
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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: Create a service control policy (SCP) that denies ec2:RunInstances if the request includes AssociatePublicIpAddress=true and attach it to the production OU. — Option D is correct because a service control policy (SCP) attached to the production OU can deny the ec2:RunInstances action when the request includes the AssociatePublicIpAddress=true parameter. This is a preventive control that applies to all accounts in the OU, regardless of IAM permissions, and does not rely on developer compliance.
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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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 →
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 company uses AWS Organizations with several OUs. The security team wants to restrict the use of specific instance types (e.g., all instances except t2.micro) across all accounts. Which SCP should be applied?
medium- A.An IAM policy applied to each account's admin role to restrict instance types.
- B.An SCP that allows ec2:RunInstances only for t2.micro.
- ✓ C.An SCP that denies ec2:RunInstances when the instance type is not t2.micro.
- D.An AWS Config rule to terminate non-compliant instances.
Why C: The correct answer is C. An SCP that denies ec2:RunInstances when the instance type is not t2.micro will prevent launching any instance type other than t2.micro. SCPs are centralized and can be applied to OUs. Option A is incorrect because IAM policies are per-account and not centralized. Option B is incorrect because an allow SCP by itself would only allow t2.micro but would not prevent other instance types unless the default is to deny all, which is not the case. Option D is incorrect because AWS Config rules are reactive and do not prevent actions; they only detect and can remediate after the fact.
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Last reviewed: Jul 4, 2026
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