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 ensure that all API calls in the organization are logged and retained for at least one year. Which AWS services or features should be used to meet these requirements? (Choose TWO.)
Clue words in this question
Noticing these words before you look at the options changes how you read each choice.
Clue: "least"
Why it matters: You want the option with minimum overhead, fewest steps, or lowest impact — not the most feature-rich or comprehensive answer.
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Amazon S3 lifecycle policy to transition logs to S3 Glacier after one year.
Option C is correct because an Amazon S3 lifecycle policy can automatically transition CloudTrail log objects from S3 Standard to S3 Glacier after one year, meeting the retention requirement cost-effectively. Option E is correct because AWS CloudTrail with an organization trail logs all API calls across all accounts in the AWS Organization, ensuring comprehensive 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.
✗
Amazon GuardDuty with threat detection enabled.
Why it's wrong here
GuardDuty analyzes logs from CloudTrail, VPC Flow Logs, and DNS, but does not log API calls itself.
✗
AWS Config with recording enabled for all resources.
Why it's wrong here
AWS Config records resource configuration changes, not API calls.
✓
Amazon S3 lifecycle policy to transition logs to S3 Glacier after one year.
Why this is correct
This ensures logs are retained and cost-effective.
Clue confirmation
The clue word "least" in the question point toward this answer.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
✗
VPC Flow Logs for all VPCs.
Why it's wrong here
VPC Flow Logs capture network traffic metadata, not API calls.
✓
AWS CloudTrail with organization trail.
Why this is correct
An organization trail logs API calls for all accounts in the organization.
Clue confirmation
The clue word "least" in the question point toward this answer.
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 (which records resource configuration changes) with CloudTrail (which records API calls), leading them to select Config as a logging solution for API activity.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
CloudTrail organization trails deliver log files to a single S3 bucket in the management account, with each account's logs partitioned by account ID. The S3 lifecycle policy uses the `Transition` action with a `Days` parameter (e.g., 365) to move objects to S3 Glacier, which provides low-cost archival storage with retrieval times of minutes to hours. Note that CloudTrail logs are delivered in gzip-compressed JSON format, so the lifecycle policy must account for the actual object size after compression.
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 startup's cloud architect reviews their monthly bill and notices costs are higher than expected for a long-running batch job. Switching from on-demand instances to Reserved Instances — or using Spot/Preemptible VMs — can reduce compute costs by up to 72 %. Questions like this test whether you understand the tradeoffs between commitment, flexibility, and cost across cloud pricing models.
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: Amazon S3 lifecycle policy to transition logs to S3 Glacier after one year. — Option C is correct because an Amazon S3 lifecycle policy can automatically transition CloudTrail log objects from S3 Standard to S3 Glacier after one year, meeting the retention requirement cost-effectively. Option E is correct because AWS CloudTrail with an organization trail logs all API calls across all accounts in the AWS Organization, ensuring comprehensive logging.
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.
Are there clue words in this question I should notice?
Yes — watch for: "least". You want the option with minimum overhead, fewest steps, or lowest impact — not the most feature-rich or comprehensive answer.
What is the key concept behind this question?
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
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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.
Question Discussion
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