The correct solution is to enable encryption using AWS KMS customer managed keys (CMK) and apply IAM policies to control access. CloudWatch Logs integrates directly with AWS KMS, allowing you to specify a customer managed key when creating or updating a log group, which encrypts all log data at rest using envelope encryption. This approach gives you full control over key rotation, deletion, and access auditing, unlike AWS-managed keys which may not satisfy strict compliance requirements. On the SCS-C02 exam, this question tests your understanding of which encryption options are natively supported by CloudWatch Logs—a common trap is confusing SSE-S3 or SSE-C with CloudWatch Logs, but those are S3-specific features. Remember that CloudWatch Logs only supports KMS customer managed keys for encryption at rest, not S3-managed or customer-provided keys. A useful memory tip: “CloudWatch Logs + KMS CMK = compliance control,” meaning if you need to control key access and meet regulatory mandates, always choose a customer managed key over default encryption.
SCS-C02 Security Logging and Monitoring Practice Question
This SCS-C02 practice question tests your understanding of security logging and monitoring. 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 is using Amazon CloudWatch Logs to collect logs from its EC2 instances. The security team wants to ensure that logs are encrypted at rest and that access to the logs is controlled. Which solution should the team implement?
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Enable encryption using AWS KMS customer managed keys (CMK) and apply IAM policies to control access.
Option D is correct because CloudWatch Logs supports encryption using AWS KMS customer-managed keys, and IAM policies can control access. Option A is wrong because SSE-S3 is for S3, not CloudWatch Logs. Option B is wrong because CloudWatch Logs does not use SSE-C. Option C is wrong because default encryption uses AWS-managed keys, which may not meet compliance requirements.
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.
✓
Enable encryption using AWS KMS customer managed keys (CMK) and apply IAM policies to control access.
Why this is correct
CloudWatch Logs supports KMS CMK for encryption at rest, and IAM policies can control who can access the logs.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
✗
Use SSE-C with a customer-provided key to encrypt log data.
Why it's wrong here
CloudWatch Logs does not support SSE-C.
✗
Use SSE-S3 to encrypt the log data in CloudWatch Logs.
Why it's wrong here
SSE-S3 is an S3 feature, not applicable to CloudWatch Logs.
✗
Enable default encryption on the log group and use S3 bucket policies.
Why it's wrong here
Default encryption uses AWS-managed keys, and S3 bucket policies are not applicable to CloudWatch Logs.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
Many certification questions include familiar terms but test a specific constraint. Read the exact wording before choosing an answer that is generally true but wrong for this case.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
This question should be treated as a scenario, not a definition check. Identify the problem, the constraint and the best action. Then compare each option against those facts.
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.
Use explanations to understand the rule behind the answer.
TExam Day Tips
→Underline the problem statement mentally.
→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 SCS-C02 exam domain this question belongs to, then review the specific concept being tested. Practise related questions in that domain and focus on understanding why each wrong answer is tempting — not just why the correct answer is right.
Security Logging and Monitoring — This question tests Security Logging and Monitoring — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Enable encryption using AWS KMS customer managed keys (CMK) and apply IAM policies to control access. — Option D is correct because CloudWatch Logs supports encryption using AWS KMS customer-managed keys, and IAM policies can control access. Option A is wrong because SSE-S3 is for S3, not CloudWatch Logs. Option B is wrong because CloudWatch Logs does not use SSE-C. Option C is wrong because default encryption uses AWS-managed keys, which may not meet compliance requirements.
What should I do if I get this SCS-C02 question wrong?
Identify which SCS-C02 exam domain this question belongs to, then review the specific concept being tested. Practise related questions in that domain and focus on understanding why each wrong answer is tempting — not just why the correct answer is right.
What is the key concept behind this question?
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
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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.
Question Discussion
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