SCS-C02 Management and Security Governance Practice Question
A company has a requirement that all S3 buckets must block public access. The security engineer needs to continuously monitor for compliance and automatically remediate any noncompliant buckets. Which combination of AWS services should the engineer use?
⚠ Common exam trap
SCS-C02 often tests the distinction between detection-only services (GuardDuty, Security Hub, Trusted Advisor) and the Config + Lambda/SSM Automation pattern that provides both continuous compliance evaluation and automated remediation.
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
✓
AWS Config and AWS Lambda (or SSM Automation)
AWS Config continuously evaluates S3 bucket configurations against a managed rule such as 's3-bucket-public-read-prohibited' or 's3-bucket-level-public-access-prohibited', detecting any bucket that becomes noncompliant. Config can then trigger an EventBridge event that invokes a Lambda function or SSM Automation document to re-apply the Block Public Access settings, delivering both continuous monitoring and automatic remediation. This is the canonical AWS pattern for compliance enforcement.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Amazon GuardDuty and AWS Security Hub
Why it's wrong here
GuardDuty detects malicious activity and anomalous behaviour, while Security Hub aggregates and scores findings; neither evaluates S3 Block Public Access configuration nor executes remediation actions. GuardDuty would be tempting for threat detection, but the requirement is configuration compliance monitoring with automatic correction.
- ✓
AWS Config and AWS Lambda (or SSM Automation)
Why this is correct
AWS Config rules continuously evaluate bucket public access settings and flag noncompliant resources, triggering remediation. Lambda or SSM Automation then applies the block public access configuration automatically, satisfying both continuous monitoring and automatic remediation requirements.
- ✗
AWS Organizations SCPs and AWS CloudTrail
Why it's wrong here
SCPs set permission guardrails at the organisation level and CloudTrail only records API activity; neither evaluates bucket policy or Block Public Access settings, so no continuous compliance detection or automated remediation occurs. SCPs would be tempting for preventive denial of public-access API calls, but the stem requires detection plus remediation.
- ✗
AWS Trusted Advisor and Amazon SNS
Why it's wrong here
Trusted Advisor surfaces a periodic check result and SNS only delivers notifications; neither evaluates each bucket's Block Public Access configuration continuously nor performs remediation. Trusted Advisor would be tempting for advisory visibility, but it neither monitors in near real time nor changes resource state.
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
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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-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.