The correct architecture sends CloudTrail logs to Amazon CloudWatch Logs, then uses a subscription filter to Amazon Kinesis Data Firehose delivering to Amazon OpenSearch Service, because this path provides the lowest latency for real-time CloudTrail log analysis while keeping costs minimal. CloudTrail delivers logs to CloudWatch Logs in near real-time, and the subscription filter streams them continuously to Kinesis Data Firehose, which buffers and loads directly into OpenSearch Service for immediate indexing and search—avoiding batch processing or intermediate storage that would add delay and expense. On the AWS Certified Security Specialty SCS-C02 exam, this scenario tests your understanding of streaming architectures for security monitoring; a common trap is choosing a solution that uses Athena on S3, which introduces query latency and per-scan costs, or Lambda-based processing, which can throttle under high volume. Remember the memory tip: "Stream to Search, not Store to Query"—for real-time detection, push logs through CloudWatch Logs and Firehose straight into OpenSearch, skipping S3 as an intermediate hop.
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 requires real-time analysis of AWS CloudTrail logs to detect unauthorized API calls. The logs are stored in Amazon S3. Which architecture minimizes latency and cost?
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Send CloudTrail logs to Amazon CloudWatch Logs, then use a subscription filter to Amazon Kinesis Data Firehose delivering to Amazon OpenSearch Service
Option B is correct because it provides the lowest-latency path for real-time analysis: CloudTrail logs are delivered to CloudWatch Logs in near real-time, and a subscription filter streams them to Kinesis Data Firehose, which buffers and delivers directly to Amazon OpenSearch Service for immediate indexing and search. This architecture avoids batch processing, minimizes data movement overhead, and uses managed services that scale automatically, keeping both latency and cost low.
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.
✗
Use AWS Glue to crawl S3 and load into Amazon Redshift for analysis
Why it's wrong here
Batch processing is not real-time.
✓
Send CloudTrail logs to Amazon CloudWatch Logs, then use a subscription filter to Amazon Kinesis Data Firehose delivering to Amazon OpenSearch Service
Why this is correct
Enables near real-time streaming.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
✗
Query CloudTrail logs directly using Amazon Athena
Why it's wrong here
Athena is interactive but not real-time streaming.
✗
Configure S3 event notifications to invoke an AWS Lambda function that writes to Amazon OpenSearch Service
Why it's wrong here
S3 notifications have delays and are not streaming.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is that candidates often assume S3 event notifications (Option D) are the fastest path for real-time processing, but they overlook the inherent delivery delay of CloudTrail to S3 (up to 15 minutes) and the risk of Lambda concurrency limits causing dropped events under high log volume.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
CloudTrail delivers logs to CloudWatch Logs with a latency of approximately 5–15 minutes, but the subscription filter to Kinesis Data Firehose can be configured with a buffer interval as low as 60 seconds (or 1 MB), enabling near-real-time streaming to OpenSearch Service. OpenSearch Service indexes documents as they arrive, allowing sub-second search latency for alerting on unauthorized API calls. This architecture also supports data transformation via Firehose’s built-in Lambda integration if needed, without adding significant delay.
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 startup's cloud architect reviews their monthly bill and notices costs are higher than expected for a long-running batch job. Switching from on-demand instances to Reserved Instances — or using Spot/Preemptible VMs — can reduce compute costs by up to 72 %. Questions like this test whether you understand the tradeoffs between commitment, flexibility, and cost across cloud pricing models.
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.
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: Send CloudTrail logs to Amazon CloudWatch Logs, then use a subscription filter to Amazon Kinesis Data Firehose delivering to Amazon OpenSearch Service — Option B is correct because it provides the lowest-latency path for real-time analysis: CloudTrail logs are delivered to CloudWatch Logs in near real-time, and a subscription filter streams them to Kinesis Data Firehose, which buffers and delivers directly to Amazon OpenSearch Service for immediate indexing and search. This architecture avoids batch processing, minimizes data movement overhead, and uses managed services that scale automatically, keeping both latency and cost low.
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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