SCS-C02 Threat Detection and Incident Response Practice Question
This SCS-C02 practice question tests your understanding of threat detection and incident response. 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 multiple accounts. The security team wants to centrally collect and analyze VPC Flow Logs from all accounts. The team has set up a central logging account with an S3 bucket that has a bucket policy allowing cross-account writes. However, VPC Flow Logs from member accounts are not appearing. What is the most likely cause?
Clue words in this question
Noticing these words before you look at the options changes how you read each choice.
Clue: "most likely"
Why it matters: Probability qualifier — the question wants the most probable cause or outcome, not a guaranteed one. Eliminate low-probability options.
AWS CloudTrail is not enabled in the member accounts.
Why wrong: CloudTrail is not required for VPC Flow Logs.
B
The VPC Flow Logs must be delivered to CloudWatch Logs first, then exported to S3.
Why wrong: VPC Flow Logs can be published directly to S3.
C
VPC Flow Logs cannot be published directly to an S3 bucket in a different account. The logs must be published to a bucket in the same account as the VPC, and then replicated to the central account.
Direct cross-account publishing is not supported.
D
The S3 bucket policy does not allow the s3:PutObject action for the member accounts.
Why wrong: The bucket policy allows cross-account writes, so this is not the issue.
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
VPC Flow Logs cannot be published directly to an S3 bucket in a different account. The logs must be published to a bucket in the same account as the VPC, and then replicated to the central account.
Option A is correct because VPC Flow Logs can be published to Amazon S3 only if the log group and stream are in the same account as the VPC; cross-account publishing is not supported directly. Option B is wrong because CloudTrail is not involved in Flow Log collection. Option C is wrong because S3 bucket policies are not the issue as they allow cross-account writes. Option D is wrong because Flow Logs can be published to a central bucket via cross-account delivery with proper permissions, but the key point is that the bucket must be in the same account as the VPC or use S3 replication.
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.
✗
AWS CloudTrail is not enabled in the member accounts.
Why it's wrong here
CloudTrail is not required for VPC Flow Logs.
✗
The VPC Flow Logs must be delivered to CloudWatch Logs first, then exported to S3.
Why it's wrong here
VPC Flow Logs can be published directly to S3.
✓
VPC Flow Logs cannot be published directly to an S3 bucket in a different account. The logs must be published to a bucket in the same account as the VPC, and then replicated to the central account.
Why this is correct
Direct cross-account publishing is not supported.
Clue confirmation
The clue word "most likely" in the question point toward this answer.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
✗
The S3 bucket policy does not allow the s3:PutObject action for the member accounts.
Why it's wrong here
The bucket policy allows cross-account writes, so this is not the issue.
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.
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: VPC Flow Logs cannot be published directly to an S3 bucket in a different account. The logs must be published to a bucket in the same account as the VPC, and then replicated to the central account. — Option A is correct because VPC Flow Logs can be published to Amazon S3 only if the log group and stream are in the same account as the VPC; cross-account publishing is not supported directly. Option B is wrong because CloudTrail is not involved in Flow Log collection. Option C is wrong because S3 bucket policies are not the issue as they allow cross-account writes. Option D is wrong because Flow Logs can be published to a central bucket via cross-account delivery with proper permissions, but the key point is that the bucket must be in the same account as the VPC or use S3 replication.
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.
Are there clue words in this question I should notice?
Yes — watch for: "most likely". Probability qualifier — the question wants the most probable cause or outcome, not a guaranteed one. Eliminate low-probability options.
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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