SCS-C02 Management and Security Governance Practice Question
A company uses AWS Organizations with multiple accounts. The security team wants to ensure that all newly created accounts automatically have AWS CloudTrail enabled, with logs delivered to a centralized S3 bucket. Which solution meets these requirements with the least operational overhead?
Answer choices
Why each option matters
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Create an SCP that denies actions to disable CloudTrail and modify the S3 bucket policy. Use AWS CloudFormation StackSets to deploy a CloudTrail trail in each account.
The correct answer. SCPs cannot enable CloudTrail, but they can prevent disabling it and modifying the S3 bucket policy. To actually enable CloudTrail across all accounts with minimal overhead, AWS CloudFormation StackSets can deploy a CloudTrail trail in each account automatically. Option A is incorrect because SCPs cannot enable services—they only deny or allow actions. Option B is incorrect because AWS Trusted Advisor only checks and alerts; it does not enforce configurations. Option D is incorrect because AWS Config rules with auto-remediation can work but involve more setup and overhead compared to using StackSets, which is purpose-built for deploying resources across multiple accounts. Therefore, C provides the least operational overhead.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Create an SCP that enables CloudTrail and enforces log delivery to the centralized S3 bucket.
Why it's wrong here
SCPs only define the maximum available permissions; they cannot create resources or enable services, so no trail is ever started. SCPs are the right tool for restricting actions, such as denying CloudTrail deletion or region use, not for provisioning logging infrastructure across accounts.
- ✗
Use AWS Trusted Advisor to check CloudTrail status and send alerts to the security team.
Why it's wrong here
Trusted Advisor only reports findings and sends notifications; it cannot enable CloudTrail or configure delivery, so accounts remain untrailed. It suits periodic advisory checks on existing accounts, not automated enforcement at account creation, which requires CloudFormation StackSets or an organisation trail.
- ✓
Create an SCP that denies actions to disable CloudTrail and modify the S3 bucket policy. Use AWS CloudFormation StackSets to deploy a CloudTrail trail in each account.
Why this is correct
StackSets with service-managed permissions automatically deploy the CloudTrail trail to every account, including newly created ones, satisfying the automatic-enablement constraint with minimal overhead. The SCP complements this by preventing trail deletion or bucket-policy tampering, enforcing immutability across the organisation without per-account scripting.
- ✗
Use AWS Config rules with auto-remediation to enable CloudTrail in each account.
Why it's wrong here
Config rules evaluate resource compliance after the fact and remediate via Lambda, so a new account's trail is not enabled until the rule runs, and the custom automation adds maintenance. Config is intended for detecting and remediating non-compliant resource configurations, not provisioning trails at account creation.
Quick reference
AWS S3 Storage Class Comparison
| Storage Class | Min Duration | Retrieval | Use Case |
|---|---|---|---|
| S3 Standard | None | Immediate | Frequently accessed data |
| S3 Standard-IA | 30 days | Immediate | Infrequent access, rapid retrieval |
| S3 One Zone-IA | 30 days | Immediate | Non-critical infrequent data |
| S3 Intelligent-Tiering | None | Immediate–hours | Unknown or changing access patterns |
| S3 Glacier Instant | 90 days | Milliseconds | Archive with instant retrieval |
| S3 Glacier Flexible | 90 days | Minutes–hours | Archive, flexible retrieval |
| S3 Glacier Deep Archive | 180 days | Hours | Long-term compliance archive |
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JA
Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
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.