Quick Answer
The answer is a service control policy (SCP) that denies the s3:PutBucketPolicy action. This is correct because SCPs, applied through AWS Organizations, act as a centralized guardrail that can explicitly deny specific API calls across all accounts in an organization, preventing any IAM user, role, or even the root user from making an S3 bucket policy public. On the AWS Certified Security Specialty SCS-C02 exam, this scenario tests your understanding of the difference between account-level controls and organization-wide enforcement; a common trap is choosing S3 Block Public Access, which is per-account and can be overridden by a bucket policy, whereas an SCP cannot be bypassed by individual account administrators. Remember the memory tip: “SCP stops the policy” — if you need to prevent the action of writing a public bucket policy across all accounts, think SCP, not account settings.
This SCS-C02 practice question tests your understanding of management and security governance. Match the stated requirement to the specific cloud service, access model, or configuration option — many options are valid in isolation but not for this scenario. 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 developer has created an S3 bucket policy that grants public read access. The security team wants to prevent any S3 bucket from becoming public. Which AWS service can enforce this restriction across all accounts?
AWS CloudTrail with a metric filter
Why wrong: CloudTrail only logs, does not prevent.
S3 Block Public Access settings on each account
Why wrong: Block Public Access can be changed by account administrators.
A service control policy (SCP) denying s3:PutBucketPolicy
SCPs can deny actions across all accounts in an organization.
IAM permissions boundary
Why wrong: Permissions boundaries are per-entity, not per-account.
Answer choices
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
A service control policy (SCP) denying s3:PutBucketPolicy
AWS Organizations SCPs can deny specific S3 actions that make buckets public. Option C is correct. Option A (IAM policies) are per-user, not account-wide. Option B (S3 Block Public Access) is per-account or per-bucket, but can be overridden. Option D (CloudTrail) only logs.
Key principle: ACLs process entries top to bottom and stop at the first match. Entry order and interface direction matter as much as the permit or deny statement.
Answer analysis
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
AWS CloudTrail with a metric filter
Why it's wrong here
CloudTrail only logs, does not prevent.
S3 Block Public Access settings on each account
Why it's wrong here
Block Public Access can be changed by account administrators.
A service control policy (SCP) denying s3:PutBucketPolicy
Why this is correct
SCPs can deny actions across all accounts in an organization.
Related concept
Standard ACLs match source addresses.
IAM permissions boundary
Why it's wrong here
Permissions boundaries are per-entity, not per-account.
Common exam traps
ACLs are processed top to bottom. The first matching entry wins, and an implicit deny usually exists at the end.
Detailed technical explanation
ACL questions test precision: source, destination, protocol, port and direction. A generally correct ACL can still fail if it is applied on the wrong interface or in the wrong direction.
Key takeaway
ACLs process entries top to bottom and stop at the first match. Entry order and interface direction matter as much as the permit or deny statement.
Real-world example
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
Review ACL processing order, placement rules (standard near destination, extended near source), and inbound vs outbound direction. Study wildcard masks and implicit deny. Then practise related SCS-C02 ACL questions on filtering logic and placement.
Management and Security Governance — study guide chapter
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FAQ
Management and Security Governance — This question tests Management and Security Governance — Standard ACLs match source addresses..
The correct answer is: A service control policy (SCP) denying s3:PutBucketPolicy — AWS Organizations SCPs can deny specific S3 actions that make buckets public. Option C is correct. Option A (IAM policies) are per-user, not account-wide. Option B (S3 Block Public Access) is per-account or per-bucket, but can be overridden. Option D (CloudTrail) only logs.
Review ACL processing order, placement rules (standard near destination, extended near source), and inbound vs outbound direction. Study wildcard masks and implicit deny. Then practise related SCS-C02 ACL questions on filtering logic and placement.
Standard ACLs match source addresses.
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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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