The correct answer is to attach a service control policy (SCP) that denies the iam:CreateUser action. This is correct because SCPs in AWS Organizations act as a centralized permission guardrail, setting maximum allowable permissions for all accounts in the organization; once an SCP denies an action, it cannot be overridden by any IAM policy or role within a member account, even by account administrators. On the AWS Certified Security Specialty SCS-C02 exam, this question tests your understanding of how SCPs differ from IAM policies—SCPs are account-level restrictions that apply before any IAM evaluation, making them the only way to enforce a blanket ban across all accounts. A common trap is choosing an IAM policy or a password policy, but those only affect individual accounts or password requirements, not user creation itself. Memory tip: SCPs are the “supreme court” of permissions—they have the final say, and no lower policy can appeal their denial.
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 Organizations with all features enabled. The security team wants to ensure that no IAM users are created in any account. Which approach should be used?
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Attach a service control policy (SCP) that denies iam:CreateUser.
Option C is correct because Service Control Policies (SCPs) in AWS Organizations allow you to centrally restrict permissions across all accounts in the organization. By attaching an SCP that denies the `iam:CreateUser` action, you prevent the creation of IAM users in any member account, regardless of any IAM policies attached to users or roles within those accounts. This provides a guardrail that cannot be overridden by account administrators, ensuring compliance with the security team's requirement.
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 rules to detect IAM users and notify via SNS.
Why it's wrong here
Detective, not preventive.
✗
Enable AWS CloudTrail Insights to detect anomalous IAM activity.
Why it's wrong here
Detective and after the fact.
✓
Attach a service control policy (SCP) that denies iam:CreateUser.
Why this is correct
SCPs can prevent actions across all accounts in the organization.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
✗
Apply an IAM policy to the root user to deny iam:CreateUser.
Why it's wrong here
Root user policy does not apply to other principals.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is that candidates often confuse IAM policies with SCPs, thinking that an IAM policy attached to the root user can block actions across the account, but SCPs are the only mechanism that can enforce such restrictions across all principals in an organization.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
SCPs operate at the organization level and are inherited by all accounts, including the management account if explicitly attached, but they cannot affect the management account's root user or service-linked roles. SCPs use an allow list or deny list approach, and a deny always overrides an allow, making them effective for enforcing preventive controls like blocking `iam:CreateUser`. In a real-world scenario, an SCP can be combined with AWS Config to detect and remediate any attempts to bypass the SCP, such as creating users via AWS CloudFormation or the AWS CLI.
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.
Management and Security Governance — This question tests Management and Security Governance — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Attach a service control policy (SCP) that denies iam:CreateUser. — Option C is correct because Service Control Policies (SCPs) in AWS Organizations allow you to centrally restrict permissions across all accounts in the organization. By attaching an SCP that denies the `iam:CreateUser` action, you prevent the creation of IAM users in any member account, regardless of any IAM policies attached to users or roles within those accounts. This provides a guardrail that cannot be overridden by account administrators, ensuring compliance with the security team's requirement.
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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