- A
Set up Amazon EventBridge rules in each account to send specific CloudTrail events to a centralized event bus for immediate processing.
EventBridge can capture CloudTrail events in near real time and send them to a central bus for immediate analysis and alerting.
- B
Enable Amazon GuardDuty in each account and configure it to send findings to a centralized S3 bucket.
Why wrong: GuardDuty provides threat detection but its findings are generated periodically, not in real time for every API call.
- C
Configure CloudTrail to deliver logs to a single S3 bucket and use S3 Event Notifications to trigger a Lambda function.
Why wrong: S3 Event Notifications are not real-time and can have delays; also, CloudTrail delivers logs in batches every 5 minutes.
- D
Use Amazon CloudWatch Logs Insights to query CloudTrail logs across accounts in real time.
Why wrong: CloudWatch Logs Insights is for querying historical data, not for real-time alerting.
Quick Answer
The answer is to set up Amazon EventBridge rules in each account to send specific CloudTrail events to a centralized event bus for immediate processing. This approach reduces CloudTrail threat detection latency because EventBridge consumes events in near real time, using cross-account event buses to route suspicious API activity directly to a central security account without waiting for log delivery to S3. On the AWS Certified Security Specialty SCS-C02 exam, this question tests your understanding that aggregation alone (like a centralized S3 bucket) does not solve latency—the bottleneck is analysis speed, not log collection. A common trap is choosing GuardDuty or CloudWatch Logs Insights, but GuardDuty introduces its own analysis delay, while Insights is for historical querying, not real-time alerting. Remember the memory tip: “EventBridge is the bridge to real time; S3 is the lake for later.”
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 detect suspicious API activity across all accounts in real time. They have enabled AWS CloudTrail in all accounts and are sending logs to a centralized S3 bucket. However, they are receiving alerts only after a significant delay. What should the security team do to reduce the latency of threat detection?
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
Set up Amazon EventBridge rules in each account to send specific CloudTrail events to a centralized event bus for immediate processing.
Option D is correct because Amazon EventBridge can consume CloudTrail events in near real time across accounts by using cross-account event buses, allowing immediate action. Option A is wrong because consolidating logs is already done; the issue is latency in analysis, not aggregation. Option B is wrong because GuardDuty can analyze CloudTrail logs but may still introduce delay; EventBridge is faster for real-time detection. Option C is wrong because CloudWatch Logs Insights is for querying, not real-time alerting.
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.
- ✓
Set up Amazon EventBridge rules in each account to send specific CloudTrail events to a centralized event bus for immediate processing.
Why this is correct
EventBridge can capture CloudTrail events in near real time and send them to a central bus for immediate analysis and alerting.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
- ✗
Enable Amazon GuardDuty in each account and configure it to send findings to a centralized S3 bucket.
Why it's wrong here
GuardDuty provides threat detection but its findings are generated periodically, not in real time for every API call.
- ✗
Configure CloudTrail to deliver logs to a single S3 bucket and use S3 Event Notifications to trigger a Lambda function.
Why it's wrong here
S3 Event Notifications are not real-time and can have delays; also, CloudTrail delivers logs in batches every 5 minutes.
- ✗
Use Amazon CloudWatch Logs Insights to query CloudTrail logs across accounts in real time.
Why it's wrong here
CloudWatch Logs Insights is for querying historical data, not for real-time alerting.
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.
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FAQ
Questions learners often ask
What does this SCS-C02 question test?
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: Set up Amazon EventBridge rules in each account to send specific CloudTrail events to a centralized event bus for immediate processing. — Option D is correct because Amazon EventBridge can consume CloudTrail events in near real time across accounts by using cross-account event buses, allowing immediate action. Option A is wrong because consolidating logs is already done; the issue is latency in analysis, not aggregation. Option B is wrong because GuardDuty can analyze CloudTrail logs but may still introduce delay; EventBridge is faster for real-time detection. Option C is wrong because CloudWatch Logs Insights is for querying, not real-time alerting.
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.
What is the key concept behind this question?
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
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Last reviewed: Jun 20, 2026
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.
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