The answer is to enable an AWS CloudTrail organization trail and use Amazon EventBridge to invoke automated responses. This solution is correct because the organization trail centrally logs all API calls from every AWS account into a single S3 bucket and CloudWatch Logs log group, while EventBridge rules can match specific suspicious API calls—like IAM DeleteRolePolicy—and automatically trigger Lambda functions or Systems Manager Automation, eliminating per-account management overhead. On the AWS Certified Security Specialty SCS-C02 exam, this scenario tests your understanding of centralized logging and event-driven response at scale, often appearing as a trap where candidates mistakenly choose per-account CloudTrail or separate monitoring tools. The key memory tip is “One trail to rule them all, one EventBridge to call them”—remember that organization-level CloudTrail plus EventBridge is the most efficient and scalable way to detect and automatically respond to suspicious API calls across multiple accounts.
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 AWS Organizations with multiple accounts. The security team wants to detect and automatically respond to suspicious API calls across all accounts. Which solution is the MOST efficient and scalable?
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Enable AWS CloudTrail organization trail and use Amazon EventBridge to invoke automated responses
Option D is correct because enabling an AWS CloudTrail organization trail centrally logs all API calls from every account in the AWS Organization into a single Amazon S3 bucket and CloudWatch Logs log group. Amazon EventBridge can then be used to create event rules that match specific suspicious API calls (e.g., IAM DeleteRolePolicy) and automatically invoke target actions like AWS Lambda functions or AWS Systems Manager Automation, providing a scalable, centralized, and efficient detection and response mechanism without per-account management overhead.
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 API calls and trigger Lambda functions
Why it's wrong here
AWS Config is for configuration compliance, not real-time API monitoring.
✗
Deploy Amazon GuardDuty and use its automated response feature
Why it's wrong here
GuardDuty focuses on threat detection, not direct API call response.
✗
Create a CloudTrail trail in each account and aggregate logs via cross-account S3 bucket
Why it's wrong here
Managing separate trails per account is not efficient or scalable.
✓
Enable AWS CloudTrail organization trail and use Amazon EventBridge to invoke automated responses
Why this is correct
Organization trail centralizes logging; EventBridge enables automated response to API calls.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is that candidates often confuse AWS Config rules (which evaluate configuration drift) with CloudTrail (which records API activity), or assume that GuardDuty's threat detection includes built-in automated response capabilities, when in fact both require EventBridge for custom automation, making the centralized CloudTrail organization trail plus EventBridge the most efficient and scalable solution.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
An AWS CloudTrail organization trail is created in the management account and automatically applies to all member accounts, delivering log files to a single S3 bucket with a prefix structure that separates events by account ID and region. Amazon EventBridge can consume CloudTrail events in near real-time (typically within 5 minutes) by using event patterns that match specific API actions, source IP addresses, or user identities, and can trigger Lambda functions, Step Functions, or SQS queues for automated response. This architecture scales seamlessly as new accounts are added to the organization, because the trail and EventBridge rules are defined once and apply globally.
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 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 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: Enable AWS CloudTrail organization trail and use Amazon EventBridge to invoke automated responses — Option D is correct because enabling an AWS CloudTrail organization trail centrally logs all API calls from every account in the AWS Organization into a single Amazon S3 bucket and CloudWatch Logs log group. Amazon EventBridge can then be used to create event rules that match specific suspicious API calls (e.g., IAM DeleteRolePolicy) and automatically invoke target actions like AWS Lambda functions or AWS Systems Manager Automation, providing a scalable, centralized, and efficient detection and response mechanism without per-account management overhead.
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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