SCS-C02 Management and Security Governance Practice Question
This SCS-C02 practice question tests your understanding of management and security governance. The scenario asks you to isolate a root cause — eliminate options that address a different problem before choosing. 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 AWS Key Management Service (KMS) to encrypt data. The security team needs to ensure that KMS keys cannot be deleted accidentally. Which action should be taken?
Apply an SCP that denies kms:ScheduleKeyDeletion for all accounts.
Why wrong: This is overly broad and may be effective but is not the most targeted; also SCPs apply to all IAM principals in the account, but the question does not specify organization.
B
Create an IAM policy that denies kms:ScheduleKeyDeletion for the key.
This prevents authorized users from scheduling key deletion.
C
Enable automatic key rotation.
Why wrong: Rotation does not prevent deletion.
D
Enable deletion protection on the key.
Why wrong: KMS does not have a deletion protection feature.
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Create an IAM policy that denies kms:ScheduleKeyDeletion for the key.
Enabling key rotation does not prevent deletion; disabling and scheduling deletion is the way to delete. To prevent accidental deletion, you must disable the option to schedule key deletion via an IAM policy or use a multi-region key? The best practice is to use an IAM policy that denies kms:ScheduleKeyDeletion for specific keys or to use a CloudWatch alarm. Among the options, setting a CloudWatch alarm on the deletion event is a detective control, but the question asks to prevent accidental deletion. The correct answer is to use an IAM policy to deny the schedule key deletion action. Option B (enabling deletion protection) does not exist for KMS. Option A (rotation) does not prevent deletion. Option D (SCP) can help but at org level. The best is IAM policy.
Key principle: ACLs process entries top to bottom and stop at the first match. Entry order and interface direction matter as much as the permit or deny statement.
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 SCP that denies kms:ScheduleKeyDeletion for all accounts.
Why it's wrong here
This is overly broad and may be effective but is not the most targeted; also SCPs apply to all IAM principals in the account, but the question does not specify organization.
✓
Create an IAM policy that denies kms:ScheduleKeyDeletion for the key.
Why this is correct
This prevents authorized users from scheduling key deletion.
Related concept
Standard ACLs match source addresses.
✗
Enable automatic key rotation.
Why it's wrong here
Rotation does not prevent deletion.
✗
Enable deletion protection on the key.
Why it's wrong here
KMS does not have a deletion protection feature.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: ACLs stop at the first match
ACLs are processed top to bottom. The first matching entry wins, and an implicit deny usually exists at the end.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
ACL questions test precision: source, destination, protocol, port and direction. A generally correct ACL can still fail if it is applied on the wrong interface or in the wrong direction.
KKey Concepts to Remember
Standard ACLs match source addresses.
Extended ACLs can match source, destination, protocol and ports.
The first matching ACL entry is used.
There is usually an implicit deny at the end.
TExam Day Tips
→Check inbound versus outbound direction.
→Read the ACL from top to bottom.
→Look for a broader permit or deny above the intended line.
Key takeaway
ACLs process entries top to bottom and stop at the first match. Entry order and interface direction matter as much as the permit or deny statement.
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.
Review ACL processing order, placement rules (standard near destination, extended near source), and inbound vs outbound direction. Study wildcard masks and implicit deny. Then practise related SCS-C02 ACL questions on filtering logic and placement.
Management and Security Governance — This question tests Management and Security Governance — Standard ACLs match source addresses..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Create an IAM policy that denies kms:ScheduleKeyDeletion for the key. — Enabling key rotation does not prevent deletion; disabling and scheduling deletion is the way to delete. To prevent accidental deletion, you must disable the option to schedule key deletion via an IAM policy or use a multi-region key? The best practice is to use an IAM policy that denies kms:ScheduleKeyDeletion for specific keys or to use a CloudWatch alarm. Among the options, setting a CloudWatch alarm on the deletion event is a detective control, but the question asks to prevent accidental deletion. The correct answer is to use an IAM policy to deny the schedule key deletion action. Option B (enabling deletion protection) does not exist for KMS. Option A (rotation) does not prevent deletion. Option D (SCP) can help but at org level. The best is IAM policy.
What should I do if I get this SCS-C02 question wrong?
Review ACL processing order, placement rules (standard near destination, extended near source), and inbound vs outbound direction. Study wildcard masks and implicit deny. Then practise related SCS-C02 ACL questions on filtering logic and placement.
What is the key concept behind this question?
Standard ACLs match source addresses.
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Question Discussion
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