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 RDS for MySQL with automated backups enabled. The security team suspects that a database administrator (DBA) with full RDS access has exfiltrated data by creating a snapshot of the database and sharing it with an external AWS account. The team wants to detect such exfiltration in the future. Which step should the team take to detect and alert on snapshot sharing?
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Create an Amazon EventBridge rule that triggers on the `ModifyDBSnapshotAttribute` API call and sends an alert via Amazon SNS.
Option C is correct because the `ModifyDBSnapshotAttribute` API call is the specific action used to share an RDS snapshot with an external AWS account. By creating an Amazon EventBridge rule that triggers on this API call, the team can immediately send an alert via Amazon SNS, enabling real-time detection and response to unauthorized snapshot sharing. This approach is automated, event-driven, and directly targets the exfiltration vector.
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 Config to detect changes to RDS snapshot attributes.
Why it's wrong here
Config evaluates compliance, but does not provide real-time alerting.
✗
Enable Amazon GuardDuty with RDS Protection.
Why it's wrong here
GuardDuty RDS Protection focuses on login activity, not snapshot sharing.
✓
Create an Amazon EventBridge rule that triggers on the `ModifyDBSnapshotAttribute` API call and sends an alert via Amazon SNS.
Why this is correct
Automated detection and alerting.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
✗
Enable AWS CloudTrail and review logs manually.
Why it's wrong here
Manual review is not scalable.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is that candidates often confuse AWS Config (which is configuration-aware but not real-time) with EventBridge (which is event-driven and real-time), or they mistakenly think GuardDuty RDS Protection covers all RDS-related threats, including data exfiltration via snapshot sharing, when it actually focuses on database-level threats like brute-force attacks or anomalous queries.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
The `ModifyDBSnapshotAttribute` API call is the only way to add or remove AWS account IDs from a snapshot's `restore` attribute, which controls sharing. EventBridge (formerly CloudWatch Events) can capture this API call in near real-time via CloudTrail, and the rule can be configured with a specific event pattern that matches the `eventName` and `eventSource` to avoid false positives. In a real-world scenario, an attacker might use the AWS CLI or SDK to call `modify-db-snapshot-attribute` with the `--attribute-name restore` and `--values-to-add` parameter to share a snapshot with an external account, and this EventBridge rule would catch that action instantly.
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 company's IT admin needs to give a contractor read-only access to production logs without sharing account credentials. Using role-based access control (RBAC) and temporary scoped permissions — not a permanent shared password — is the correct pattern. Questions like this test whether you can apply least-privilege access across cloud identity services.
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: Create an Amazon EventBridge rule that triggers on the `ModifyDBSnapshotAttribute` API call and sends an alert via Amazon SNS. — Option C is correct because the `ModifyDBSnapshotAttribute` API call is the specific action used to share an RDS snapshot with an external AWS account. By creating an Amazon EventBridge rule that triggers on this API call, the team can immediately send an alert via Amazon SNS, enabling real-time detection and response to unauthorized snapshot sharing. This approach is automated, event-driven, and directly targets the exfiltration vector.
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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