The answer is to create a single CloudTrail trail in the management account and apply it to all accounts in the AWS Organization. This is the most efficient method because AWS Organizations allows you to enable CloudTrail organization-wide from the management account, automatically logging API activity for every member account without requiring manual setup or individual trails. On the AWS Certified Security Specialty SCS-C02 exam, this tests your understanding of centralized governance versus decentralized logging—a common trap is assuming each account needs its own trail or that an S3 bucket policy alone suffices. Remember, the management account acts as the single source of truth for audit logs, and deleting existing trails is unnecessary. Memory tip: think of the management account as the "master key" that unlocks logging for the entire organization with one turn.
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 uses AWS Organizations to manage multiple accounts. The security team wants to enable CloudTrail for all accounts and centrally store logs. What is the most efficient way to achieve this?
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Create a CloudTrail trail in the management account and apply it to all accounts in the organization
AWS Organizations can create a trail in the management account that logs all accounts. Deleting existing trails is not required. Each account creating its own trail is inefficient. S3 bucket policy alone does not enable logging.
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 an S3 bucket policy to allow cross-account log delivery
Why it's wrong here
Bucket policy alone does not create trails.
✓
Create a CloudTrail trail in the management account and apply it to all accounts in the organization
Why this is correct
Organization trails log all accounts centrally.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
✗
Use AWS Lambda to create trails in each account
Why it's wrong here
Complex and not as efficient as organization trail.
✗
Ask each account admin to create their own CloudTrail trail and deliver to a central S3 bucket
Why it's wrong here
Inefficient and may miss some accounts.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
Many certification questions include familiar terms but test a specific constraint. Read the exact wording before choosing an answer that is generally true but wrong for this case.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
This question should be treated as a scenario, not a definition check. Identify the problem, the constraint and the best action. Then compare each option against those facts.
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.
Use explanations to understand the rule behind the answer.
TExam Day Tips
→Underline the problem statement mentally.
→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 media company stores terabytes of video archives that are accessed once a year for audit purposes. Moving these objects to a cold storage tier (Azure Archive, S3 Glacier, or Google Nearline) costs a fraction of hot storage. Questions like this test whether you understand storage tiers, access frequency tradeoffs, and retrieval latency requirements.
What to study next
Got this wrong? Here's your next step.
Identify which SCS-C02 exam domain this question belongs to, then review the specific concept being tested. Practise related questions in that domain and focus on understanding why each wrong answer is tempting — not just why the correct answer is right.
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: Create a CloudTrail trail in the management account and apply it to all accounts in the organization — AWS Organizations can create a trail in the management account that logs all accounts. Deleting existing trails is not required. Each account creating its own trail is inefficient. S3 bucket policy alone does not enable logging.
What should I do if I get this SCS-C02 question wrong?
Identify which SCS-C02 exam domain this question belongs to, then review the specific concept being tested. Practise related questions in that domain and focus on understanding why each wrong answer is tempting — not just why the correct answer is right.
What is the key concept behind this question?
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
About these practice questions
Courseiva creates original exam-style practice questions with explanations and wrong-answer analysis. It does not publish real exam questions, exam dumps, or protected exam content. Learn why practice questions differ from exam dumps →
These questions test the same concept from different angles. Work through them to make sure you can recognise it however the exam phrases it.
Variation 1. A company uses AWS Organizations with multiple accounts. The security team needs to centrally monitor all API calls made in the member accounts. The team wants to ensure that all CloudTrail logs are delivered to a centralized S3 bucket in the management account. Which configuration should the security team implement?
medium
A.Configure CloudWatch cross-account subscription to send logs from member accounts to the management account.
B.Enable CloudTrail in each member account and configure each trail to deliver logs to the same S3 bucket.
✓ C.Create an organization trail in the management account with the S3 bucket in the management account.
D.Use Amazon S3 replication to copy logs from member account buckets to the management account bucket.
Why C: Option A is correct because an organization trail can be created in the management account that automatically applies to all member accounts. Option B is wrong because enabling CloudTrail in each account is not centralized. Option C is wrong because S3 replication does not guarantee all logs are captured. Option D is wrong because CloudWatch cross-account subscription is not the standard method for centralizing logs.
Variation 2. A company uses AWS Organizations with multiple accounts. The security team needs to ensure that all accounts have CloudTrail enabled and that logs are delivered to a centralized S3 bucket in the management account. Which solution meets these requirements?
hard
A.Write a script that runs in each account using AWS Lambda to enable CloudTrail and point to the central bucket.
B.Use AWS Config rules in each account to check CloudTrail status and remediate via Lambda.
✓ C.Use AWS CloudTrail with Organizations to create an organization trail that logs all accounts to the central bucket.
D.Create an IAM role that each account assumes to enable CloudTrail and log to the central bucket.
Why C: Using CloudTrail with AWS Organizations, you can create a trail that applies to all accounts in the organization, logging to a single S3 bucket. Option D is correct. Option A is wrong because manual per-account setup is not scalable. Option B is wrong because Config does not enable CloudTrail. Option C is wrong because Lambda functions would be complex and not native.
Last reviewed: Jun 20, 2026
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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.
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