This SCS-C02 practice question tests your understanding of threat detection and incident response. 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 security engineer needs to detect and respond to malware on an EC2 instance. Which TWO AWS services can be used together to achieve this? (Choose TWO.)
Amazon Inspector
Why wrong: Inspector is for vulnerabilities, not malware.
AWS Lambda
Can automate response to GuardDuty findings.
Amazon CloudWatch
Why wrong: CloudWatch can alert but not detect malware.
AWS WAF
Why wrong: WAF is for web traffic.
Amazon GuardDuty with Malware Protection
Detects malware on EC2.
Answer choices
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
AWS Lambda
AWS Lambda is correct because it can be used as a serverless compute target to automate incident response actions when malware is detected. For example, a Lambda function can be triggered by a GuardDuty finding to isolate the compromised EC2 instance by modifying security group rules or detaching the instance from an Auto Scaling group, enabling rapid, automated remediation without manual intervention.
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 Inspector
Why it's wrong here
Inspector is for vulnerabilities, not malware.
AWS Lambda
Why this is correct
Can automate response to GuardDuty findings.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
Amazon CloudWatch
Why it's wrong here
CloudWatch can alert but not detect malware.
AWS WAF
Why it's wrong here
WAF is for web traffic.
Amazon GuardDuty with Malware Protection
Why this is correct
Detects malware on EC2.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
Common exam traps
The trap here is that candidates often confuse Amazon Inspector's vulnerability scanning with malware detection, or assume CloudWatch alone can perform automated incident response, when in fact GuardDuty's Malware Protection is the only AWS-native service that directly detects malware on EC2, and Lambda is required for automated remediation.
Detailed technical explanation
GuardDuty with Malware Protection uses agentless scanning by taking snapshots of the EC2 instance's EBS volumes and analyzing them in an isolated, ephemeral environment to detect malicious files. When a finding is generated, it can be sent to Amazon EventBridge, which then triggers a Lambda function that can execute remediation steps such as isolating the instance via a security group change or stopping the instance using the EC2 API. This integration allows for near-real-time response without requiring a persistent agent on the instance.
Key takeaway
Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Real-world example
An e-commerce site experiences heavy traffic on Black Friday and near-zero traffic during off-peak weeks. Rather than provisioning permanent large VMs, the team uses auto-scaling groups that add capacity automatically under load and reduce it overnight. Questions like this test whether you understand elasticity, availability zones, and cloud compute scaling patterns.
What to study next
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
Threat Detection and Incident Response — study guide chapter
Learn the concepts, then practise the questions
Threat Detection and Incident Response practice questions
Targeted practice on this topic area only
All SCS-C02 questions
1,738 questions across all exam domains
AWS Certified Security Specialty SCS-C02 study guide
Full concept coverage aligned to exam objectives
SCS-C02 practice test guide
How to use practice tests most effectively before exam day
Related practice questions
Use these pages to review the topic behind this question. This is how one missed question becomes focused revision.
Practise SCS-C02 questions linked to Threat Detection and Incident Response.
Practise SCS-C02 questions linked to Security Logging and Monitoring.
Practise SCS-C02 questions linked to Identity and Access Management.
Practise SCS-C02 questions linked to Management and Security Governance.
Practise SCS-C02 questions linked to Infrastructure Security.
Practise SCS-C02 questions linked to Data Protection.
Practise SCS-C02 questions linked to SCS-C02 fundamentals.
Practise SCS-C02 questions linked to SCS-C02 scenario.
Practise SCS-C02 questions linked to SCS-C02 troubleshooting.
Practice this exam
Short sessions build daily habit. Longer sessions build exam-day stamina. Try a timed session to simulate real conditions.
FAQ
Threat Detection and Incident Response — This question tests Threat Detection and Incident Response — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
The correct answer is: AWS Lambda — AWS Lambda is correct because it can be used as a serverless compute target to automate incident response actions when malware is detected. For example, a Lambda function can be triggered by a GuardDuty finding to isolate the compromised EC2 instance by modifying security group rules or detaching the instance from an Auto Scaling group, enabling rapid, automated remediation without manual intervention.
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.
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 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.
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.