SCS-C02 Identity and Access Management Practice Question
A company is using AWS Organizations with multiple accounts. The security team wants to ensure that no IAM user in any account can create new IAM users. Which approach should be used?
⚠ Common exam trap
It's easy for candidates to confuse SCPs with IAM permissions boundaries or think SCPs can be attached directly to IAM users, but SCPs only apply to accounts or organizational units and are designed for centralized governance across an AWS Organization.
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
✓
Apply a service control policy (SCP) at the root organizational unit that denies IAM:CreateUser.
Service control policies (SCPs) are the correct mechanism because they allow you to centrally restrict permissions across all accounts in an AWS Organization. By attaching an SCP at the root organizational unit that denies the `iam:CreateUser` action, you ensure that no IAM user in any member account can create new IAM users, regardless of any IAM policies applied within those accounts. SCPs act as a guardrail that overrides any allow permissions granted by IAM policies.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Apply an IAM policy to the root user of each account.
Why it's wrong here
Root user policies govern only that account's root identity, so IAM users elsewhere retain iam:CreateUser. It tempts because root credentials are the most privileged in an account, but the requirement spans every account in the organization, which only an SCP on the organization's root or OUs can enforce.
- ✗
Use an SCP attached to each IAM user.
Why it's wrong here
SCPs apply only to accounts, OUs or the organisation root, and they filter IAM permissions; attaching one to an IAM user is not a supported target and would not restrict user creation. It tempts because SCPs are the standard guardrail mechanism, but they must be attached at the account or OU level.
- ✗
Use an IAM permissions boundary on each IAM user.
Why it's wrong here
Permissions boundaries cap the maximum permissions of the identities they are attached to, so they cannot stop a user who lacks a boundary from calling iam:CreateUser. They suit delegated administration where you must limit a specific principal's effective permissions, not organisation-wide preventive control across all accounts.
- ✓
Apply a service control policy (SCP) at the root organizational unit that denies IAM:CreateUser.
Why this is correct
Service control policies set permission guardrails across an AWS Organizations root, and an explicit deny for iam:CreateUser applies to every principal in every member account, including account administrators. This centrally prevents new IAM users organisation-wide, satisfying the requirement without editing each account individually.
Go deeper
Related to this question
About these practice questions
One of 1,205 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.