This SCS-C02 practice question tests your understanding of infrastructure security. 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 has a VPC with public and private subnets. An EC2 instance in a private subnet needs to access an S3 bucket to store logs. The security team wants to ensure that traffic does not traverse the internet. Which solution should be used? (Choose two.)
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Create an S3 Gateway Endpoint in the VPC
A VPC Gateway Endpoint (option A) allows instances in a private subnet to access S3 without traversing the internet by routing traffic through AWS's internal network. This is the correct foundational component because it uses prefix lists in the route table to direct S3 traffic to the endpoint, bypassing the need for an Internet Gateway or NAT Gateway.
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.
✓
Create an S3 Gateway Endpoint in the VPC
Why this is correct
Provides private connectivity to S3.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
✓
Attach a VPC Endpoint Policy to the Gateway Endpoint to restrict access to the specific bucket
Why this is correct
Controls access to the S3 bucket.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
✗
Attach an Internet Gateway to the VPC
Why it's wrong here
Would route to internet.
✗
Create an S3 Interface Endpoint in the VPC
Why it's wrong here
S3 does not support Interface Endpoints.
✗
Use a NAT Gateway to route the traffic to the internet
Why it's wrong here
Would use internet, not private.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is that candidates often confuse Gateway Endpoints with Interface Endpoints, assuming both are equally valid for S3, but Gateway Endpoints are the correct and cost-effective choice for S3 access from private subnets, while Interface Endpoints are used for services like API Gateway or Kinesis.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
Gateway Endpoints work by adding a route in the subnet's route table with a destination of the S3 prefix list (e.g., com.amazonaws.us-east-1.s3) and a target of the endpoint ID. Traffic to S3 is then routed over the AWS backbone, not the public internet. A VPC Endpoint Policy (option B) is essential for least-privilege security, as it restricts which S3 buckets and actions the endpoint can access, preventing unauthorized data exfiltration even if an instance is compromised.
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.
Infrastructure Security — This question tests Infrastructure Security — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Create an S3 Gateway Endpoint in the VPC — A VPC Gateway Endpoint (option A) allows instances in a private subnet to access S3 without traversing the internet by routing traffic through AWS's internal network. This is the correct foundational component because it uses prefix lists in the route table to direct S3 traffic to the endpoint, bypassing the need for an Internet Gateway or NAT Gateway.
What should I do if I get this SCS-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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