SCS-C02 Infrastructure Security Practice Question
Exhibit
Refer to the exhibit. Resource Record Set: Name: www.example.com. Type: A Alias: Yes Alias Target: d1234.cloudfront.net.
A company configures a Route 53 alias record to point to a CloudFront distribution. The security team wants to ensure that users can only access the website via CloudFront and not directly via the S3 bucket origin. What additional configuration is needed?
⚠ Common exam trap
Many exam-takers confuse CloudFront signed URLs (which control user access to content) with origin access controls (which restrict which origin server CloudFront can talk to), leading them to pick option C instead of A.
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 Origin Access Control (OAC) for the S3 bucket origin
An Origin Access Control (OAC) is the recommended AWS mechanism to restrict access to an S3 bucket origin so that it only accepts requests from a specific CloudFront distribution. By configuring OAC on the CloudFront distribution and updating the S3 bucket policy to deny any requests that do not include the required OAC headers, the security team ensures that users cannot bypass CloudFront and access the S3 bucket directly via its public URL.
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 an Origin Access Control (OAC) for the S3 bucket origin
Why this is correct
OAC ensures only CloudFront can access the S3 bucket.
- ✗
Create a Route 53 health check to verify CloudFront availability
Why it's wrong here
Health checks do not prevent direct access to the origin.
- ✗
Configure CloudFront signed URLs to restrict access
Why it's wrong here
Signed URLs control user access, not origin access.
- ✗
Attach a security group to the S3 bucket
Why it's wrong here
Security groups cannot be attached to S3 buckets.
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 |
Go deeper
Related to this question
About these practice questions
One of 376 original SCS-C02 practice questions on Courseiva, each with a full explanation and wrong-answer analysis — not exam dumps or protected exam content. Learn why practice questions differ from exam dumps →
JA
Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
This SCS-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 SCS-C02 exam.