This SCS-C02 practice question tests your understanding of security logging and monitoring. This is a configuration task: choose the command set that satisfies every stated requirement. Small differences — like 'secret' vs 'password' or 'transport input ssh' vs 'all' — change whether the answer is correct. 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 security engineer is setting up monitoring for AWS API calls. Which TWO AWS services can be used to capture and analyze API activity?
Amazon CloudWatch Logs
CloudWatch Logs can receive CloudTrail events for analysis.
AWS Config
Why wrong: Config records resource configuration changes.
Amazon Inspector
Why wrong: Inspector assesses EC2 instances for vulnerabilities.
AWS CloudTrail
CloudTrail records API calls for audit.
Amazon GuardDuty
Why wrong: GuardDuty uses machine learning to detect threats but does not directly capture API calls.
Answer choices
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
Amazon CloudWatch Logs
Amazon CloudWatch Logs can capture and analyze API activity by ingesting log data from various AWS services, including AWS CloudTrail. You can configure CloudWatch Logs to monitor API calls in real time, set up metric filters to detect specific patterns, and trigger alarms based on API activity. This makes it a valid service for capturing and analyzing API calls, especially when combined with CloudTrail for detailed event records.
Key principle: Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Answer analysis
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
Amazon CloudWatch Logs
Why this is correct
CloudWatch Logs can receive CloudTrail events for analysis.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
AWS Config
Why it's wrong here
Config records resource configuration changes.
Amazon Inspector
Why it's wrong here
Inspector assesses EC2 instances for vulnerabilities.
AWS CloudTrail
Why this is correct
CloudTrail records API calls for audit.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
Amazon GuardDuty
Why it's wrong here
GuardDuty uses machine learning to detect threats but does not directly capture API calls.
Common exam traps
The trap here is that candidates often confuse AWS Config (which records resource configuration changes) with CloudTrail (which records API calls), or they think Amazon GuardDuty directly captures API logs, when in fact it only analyzes logs from other services like CloudTrail.
Detailed technical explanation
AWS CloudTrail is the primary service for capturing API activity, recording all management and data events as JSON log files stored in an S3 bucket. CloudWatch Logs can then ingest these CloudTrail logs via a subscription filter, allowing you to create metric filters and alarms based on specific API calls (e.g., `RunInstances` or `DeleteBucket`). Under the hood, CloudWatch Logs uses a log group and stream structure, and you can query logs with CloudWatch Logs Insights using a SQL-like syntax for real-time analysis of API activity patterns.
Key takeaway
Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Real-world example
A cloud solutions architect for a retail company is evaluating services for a new workload. The correct answer here reflects best practice for the specific scenario described — not a general cloud recommendation. Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option. Cloud exam questions reward reading the constraint carefully: the same technology can be right or wrong depending on the use case.
What to study next
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FAQ
Security Logging and Monitoring — This question tests Security Logging and Monitoring — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
The correct answer is: Amazon CloudWatch Logs — Amazon CloudWatch Logs can capture and analyze API activity by ingesting log data from various AWS services, including AWS CloudTrail. You can configure CloudWatch Logs to monitor API calls in real time, set up metric filters to detect specific patterns, and trigger alarms based on API activity. This makes it a valid service for capturing and analyzing API calls, especially when combined with CloudTrail for detailed event records.
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
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Last reviewed: Jun 24, 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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