SCS-C03 Identity and Access Management Practice Question
Exhibit
{
"Version": "2012-10-17",
"Statement": [
{
"Effect": "Deny",
"Action": "s3:PutObject",
"Resource": "arn:aws:s3:::production-data/*",
"Condition": {
"StringNotEquals": {
"aws:PrincipalTag/Department": "Finance"
}
}
}
]
}Refer to the exhibit. An IAM user with the 'Finance' tag is trying to upload an object to the 'production-data' bucket. The upload is failing. What is the most likely cause?
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
✓
The user does not have the 'Department' tag attached to their IAM principal.
The policy uses a Deny effect with a StringNotEquals condition. If the principal tag 'Department' is anything other than 'Finance', the action is denied. However, if the user's tag is missing or the principal does not have the expected tag during the request, the condition evaluates to true, triggering the Deny. This exhibit highlights how attribute-based access control (ABAC) relies heavily on accurate, consistent tagging across all principal entities.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
The user is missing the required S3 permission in their IAM policy.
Why it's wrong here
While missing permissions might be a cause, the exhibit shows a Deny policy. In AWS, an explicit Deny always overrides any Allow. Even if the user has full S3 permissions, this specific policy will block the action if the condition is met, making policy evaluation order the primary suspect.
- ✓
The user does not have the 'Department' tag attached to their IAM principal.
Why this is correct
The Condition uses StringNotEquals. If the tag is missing, the condition evaluates to true for the Deny, because 'null' is not equal to 'Finance'. Therefore, the Deny policy takes effect. ABAC implementations often fail when principals lack the necessary tags required by the policy logic, resulting in unexpected access denial.
- ✗
The S3 bucket policy is not allowing the action.
Why it's wrong here
The exhibit shows an IAM policy, not a bucket policy. While bucket policies can influence access, this specific IAM policy structure is designed to deny access based on principal attributes. The failure is explicitly caused by the logic within this Deny statement, which evaluates to true for non-Finance users.
- ✗
The S3 bucket is in a different AWS region.
Why it's wrong here
S3 bucket location does not affect IAM policy evaluation. IAM policies operate globally and act upon the resource ARN provided in the policy statement. The issue is clearly related to the ABAC logic defined in the condition block, rather than networking or regional constraints associated with the S3 bucket's underlying infrastructure.
Quick reference
Access Control Model Comparison
| Model | Acronym | Who Controls Access? | Best For |
|---|---|---|---|
| Discretionary Access Control | DAC | Resource owner | Small teams, file shares |
| Mandatory Access Control | MAC | System / security labels | Classified govt / military |
| Role-Based Access Control | RBAC | Administrator (via roles) | Enterprise environments |
| Attribute-Based Access Control | ABAC | Policy engine (user + resource attributes) | Fine-grained, dynamic policies |
| Rule-Based Access Control | RuBAC | System rules / ACLs | Firewall rules, network ACLs |
About these practice questions
Courseiva writes every SCS-C03 question from scratch — 99 in total, each with an explanation and a wrong-answer breakdown. None are copied from real exams or dumps. Learn why practice questions differ from exam dumps →
JA
Written and reviewed by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
Last reviewed September 2026 · checked against the official Amazon Web Services exam blueprint
This SCS-C03 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 SCS-C03 exam.