Question 1,038 of 715
SCS-C02 Management and Security Governance Practice Question
A company wants to grant a third-party auditor read-only access to specific CloudTrail log files stored in an S3 bucket. The auditor should not be able to list or access any other objects in the bucket. What is the most secure way to achieve this?
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 specific log files and share them with the auditor.
Using S3 pre-signed URLs grants time-limited access to specific objects without requiring the auditor to have AWS credentials. Option A is wrong because CloudTrail does not provide built-in console access for auditors. Option B is wrong because granting s3:GetObject on the entire bucket would allow access to all objects, not just specific log files. Option D is wrong because a bucket policy granting s3:GetObject to a specific prefix still requires the auditor to have AWS credentials, and the policy must explicitly deny s3:ListBucket to prevent listing; even then, managing credentials for a third party is less secure than using pre-signed URLs.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Use CloudTrail's built-in console access for the auditor.
Why it's wrong here
CloudTrail console access requires IAM permissions and does not isolate specific log files.
- ✗
Create a new IAM user for the auditor with an S3 policy that grants s3:GetObject on the entire bucket.
Why it's wrong here
This would allow the auditor to access any object if they guess the key, and does not limit to specific files.
- ✓
Generate pre-signed URLs for the specific log files and share them with the auditor.
Why this is correct
Pre-signed URLs provide time-limited access to specific objects without requiring AWS credentials.
- ✗
Use a bucket policy that grants the auditor's IAM user s3:GetObject access to the specific log file prefix.
Why it's wrong here
Using a bucket policy that grants s3:GetObject to a specific prefix may still allow listing if the policy includes s3:ListBucket, and it requires the auditor to have IAM credentials, which is less secure than using time-limited pre-signed URLs that do not require permanent credentials.
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 |
About these practice questions
Courseiva creates original exam-style practice questions with explanations and wrong-answer analysis. It does not publish real exam questions, exam dumps, or protected exam content. Learn why practice questions differ from exam dumps →
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.
Question Discussion
Share a tip, memory trick, or ask about the reasoning behind this question. Do not post real exam questions, leaked content, braindumps, or copyrighted exam material. Comments are moderated and may be removed without notice.
Sign in to join the discussion.