SCS-C02 Identity and Access Management Practice Question
A company wants to allow an external auditor to read all objects in a specific S3 bucket for a limited time. What is the most secure way to grant this access?
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
✓
Generate pre-signed URLs for the objects the auditor needs to read, with an expiration time.
Pre-signed URLs provide temporary, granular access to specific S3 objects without requiring the auditor to have AWS credentials. The expiration time ensures access is limited. Option B is incorrect because a bucket policy restricting by IP address still requires the auditor to have some form of authentication (like IAM user credentials) to access the bucket, and it doesn't provide object-level granularity. Option C is incorrect because making the bucket public, even with IP restrictions, is less secure as it could allow unintended access from allowed IPs and doesn't provide temporary access. Option D is incorrect because creating an IAM user for an external auditor and sharing access keys is a security risk; the credentials could be compromised or misused, and it's not a best practice for temporary external access.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✓
Generate pre-signed URLs for the objects the auditor needs to read, with an expiration time.
Why this is correct
Pre-signed URLs provide time-limited access without sharing credentials.
- ✗
Use a bucket policy that allows access only from the auditor's IP address.
Why it's wrong here
This requires the auditor's IP and may not be feasible if the auditor's IP changes.
- ✗
Make the bucket public and restrict access via IP address in the bucket policy.
Why it's wrong here
Public bucket is not secure even with IP restriction.
- ✗
Create an IAM user for the auditor with read-only access to the bucket and share the access keys.
Why it's wrong here
Managing IAM users for external auditors is not best practice.
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 |
Go deeper
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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.