SCS-C02 Threat Detection and Incident Response Practice Question
This SCS-C02 practice question tests your understanding of threat detection and incident response. 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 uses Amazon GuardDuty to detect threats. The security team wants to be alerted when GuardDuty generates a finding with a severity level of HIGH or CRITICAL. Which AWS service should the team use to send notifications based on GuardDuty findings?
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Amazon EventBridge and Amazon Simple Notification Service (SNS)
Amazon EventBridge can capture GuardDuty findings as events using a rule that matches the 'GuardDuty Finding' event type. The rule can then invoke an SNS topic to send email or SMS notifications. This is the recommended pattern because EventBridge provides native integration with GuardDuty and supports filtering by finding severity using event patterns, while SNS handles the actual notification delivery.
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.
✗
Amazon Simple Queue Service (SQS)
Why it's wrong here
SQS is for message queuing, not direct notification.
✓
Amazon EventBridge and Amazon Simple Notification Service (SNS)
Why this is correct
EventBridge can filter findings and trigger SNS for alerts.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
✗
AWS Lambda
Why it's wrong here
Lambda can process findings but is not a notification service itself.
✗
Amazon CloudWatch Logs and Amazon Simple Notification Service (SNS)
Why it's wrong here
GuardDuty findings are not sent to CloudWatch Logs by default.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is that candidates often assume GuardDuty findings go directly to CloudWatch Logs or that Lambda is required for filtering, but the native integration with EventBridge eliminates the need for custom processing or intermediate services.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
GuardDuty findings are emitted as events to the default event bus in EventBridge with a detail-type of 'GuardDuty Finding'. EventBridge rules can use event pattern matching on the 'severity' field (e.g., numeric values 7.0–8.9 for HIGH and 9.0–10.0 for CRITICAL) to trigger SNS topics. Under the hood, EventBridge uses a content-based filtering engine that evaluates JSON payloads in real time, ensuring only matching findings trigger notifications without polling or custom code.
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 cloud solutions architect for a retail company is evaluating services for a new workload. The correct answer here reflects best practice for the specific scenario described — not a general cloud recommendation. Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option. Cloud exam questions reward reading the constraint carefully: the same technology can be right or wrong depending on the use case.
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.
Threat Detection and Incident Response — This question tests Threat Detection and Incident Response — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Amazon EventBridge and Amazon Simple Notification Service (SNS) — Amazon EventBridge can capture GuardDuty findings as events using a rule that matches the 'GuardDuty Finding' event type. The rule can then invoke an SNS topic to send email or SMS notifications. This is the recommended pattern because EventBridge provides native integration with GuardDuty and supports filtering by finding severity using event patterns, while SNS handles the actual notification delivery.
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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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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