SCS-C02 Identity and Access Management Practice Question
A security engineer needs to design an IAM policy that allows an IAM user to launch EC2 instances only if they specify a specific security group ID (sg-12345) and a specific instance type (t2.micro). Which policy achieves 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
✓
{ "Version": "2012-10-17", "Statement": [ { "Effect": "Allow", "Action": "ec2:RunInstances", "Resource": "*", "Condition": { "StringEquals": { "ec2:InstanceType": "t2.micro", "ec2:SecurityGroup": "sg-12345" } } } ] }
It uses the condition keys 'ec2:InstanceType' and 'ec2:SecurityGroup' to restrict the RunInstances action to only allow launching t2.micro instances into the security group sg-12345. Option A incorrectly specifies the security group as a resource ARN, but security groups cannot be specified as resources in RunInstances; they are specified via condition keys. Option B uses 'aws:RequestTag/security-group' which is not a valid condition key for security groups; security groups are identified by 'ec2:SecurityGroup'. Option C only restricts instance type but does not restrict the security group. Therefore, only D correctly enforces both constraints.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
{ "Version": "2012-10-17", "Statement": [ { "Effect": "Allow", "Action": "ec2:RunInstances", "Resource": "arn:aws:ec2:*:*:security-group/sg-12345", "Condition": { "StringEquals": { "ec2:InstanceType": "t2.micro" } } } ] }
Why it's wrong here
Resource ARN for security group is not applicable to RunInstances action.
- ✗
{ "Version": "2012-10-17", "Statement": [ { "Effect": "Allow", "Action": "ec2:RunInstances", "Resource": "*", "Condition": { "StringEquals": { "ec2:InstanceType": "t2.micro", "aws:RequestTag/security-group": "sg-12345" } } } ] }
Why it's wrong here
Security group is not a tag; wrong condition key.
- ✗
{ "Version": "2012-10-17", "Statement": [ { "Effect": "Allow", "Action": "ec2:RunInstances", "Resource": "*", "Condition": { "StringEquals": { "ec2:InstanceType": "t2.micro" } } } ] }
Why it's wrong here
Does not restrict security group.
- ✓
{ "Version": "2012-10-17", "Statement": [ { "Effect": "Allow", "Action": "ec2:RunInstances", "Resource": "*", "Condition": { "StringEquals": { "ec2:InstanceType": "t2.micro", "ec2:SecurityGroup": "sg-12345" } } } ] }
Why this is correct
Correctly restricts both instance type and security group.
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Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
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