SCS-C02 Threat Detection and Incident Response Practice Question
A company wants to ensure that all API calls made to AWS are logged for security analysis. Which TWO services can be used to achieve this? (Choose two.)
⚠ Common exam trap
Candidates often confuse VPC Flow Logs (which log network traffic) or CloudWatch Logs (a log storage service) with services that directly capture API calls, but only CloudTrail and S3 server access logs provide the specific API-level logging required for security analysis.
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
✓
Amazon S3 server access logs
Amazon S3 server access logs capture detailed records of requests made to an S3 bucket, including the requester, bucket name, request time, and action. This enables security analysis of API calls specifically targeting S3 resources. AWS CloudTrail records all API calls made to the AWS Management Console, SDKs, and CLI across the entire AWS account, providing a comprehensive audit trail for security analysis.
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 S3 server access logs
Why this is correct
S3 server access logs record requests made to S3, which are a subset of API calls.
- ✓
AWS CloudTrail
Why this is correct
CloudTrail records API calls as events.
- ✗
Amazon VPC Flow Logs
Why it's wrong here
VPC Flow Logs capture IP traffic, not API calls.
- ✗
Amazon CloudWatch Logs
Why it's wrong here
CloudWatch Logs is a log storage service, but it does not generate logs; it ingests them from other sources.
- ✗
AWS Config
Why it's wrong here
Config records resource configuration changes, not API calls.
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.