SCS-C02 Security Logging and Monitoring Practice Question
A security engineer wants to receive real-time notifications when an AWS API call is made to delete an S3 bucket. Which service should be used to capture and forward these events to an Amazon SNS topic?
⚠ Common exam trap
It's easy for candidates to confuse AWS Config's ability to detect configuration changes with the need for real-time API call capture, leading them to choose AWS Config instead of CloudTrail with CloudWatch Events.
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
✓
AWS CloudTrail with CloudWatch Events
AWS CloudTrail captures all API calls made to S3, including DeleteBucket. By sending these CloudTrail events to Amazon CloudWatch Events (now part of Amazon EventBridge), you can create a rule that matches the specific API call and forwards it to an SNS topic for real-time notification. This combination provides the exact event-driven pipeline needed for immediate alerting on S3 bucket deletions.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✓
AWS CloudTrail with CloudWatch Events
Why this is correct
AWS CloudTrail with CloudWatch Events is the correct choice because CloudTrail records all AWS API calls as events, and CloudWatch Events (now Amazon EventBridge) can evaluate those events in near real time using an event pattern that matches specific actions like S3 DeleteBucket. When the pattern matches, it immediately triggers an SNS topic to send notifications. This architecture gives you direct, low-latency alerting on API activity, which is exactly what the security engineer needs. Unlike the other options, it is purpose-built for reacting to individual API calls as they happen.
- ✗
AWS Trusted Advisor
Why it's wrong here
AWS Trusted Advisor is incorrect because it is a best-practice assessment service that periodically checks your AWS environment against categories like cost optimization, security, fault tolerance, and service limits. It runs checks on a recurring schedule, not in real time, and it does not process or stream individual API calls such as DeleteBucket. Trusted Advisor surfaces recommendations in the console and can send weekly notifications, but it cannot be configured with an event filter to immediately alert you when a specific API call occurs. Therefore it lacks the real-time event-driven capability required here.
- ✗
Amazon GuardDuty
Why it's wrong here
Amazon GuardDuty is incorrect because it is a threat detection service that continuously analyzes VPC Flow Logs, DNS logs, and CloudTrail management events using machine learning and threat intelligence to identify suspicious behavior. While GuardDuty can produce findings and send those findings to SNS for notification, it does not directly forward raw API call events like DeleteBucket in real time; its purpose is to detect anomalies and known threats, not to provide a generic real-time event stream of every API action. The finding generation process itself introduces delays and is tailored to security threats rather than operational events, so it does not meet the requirement for direct, immediate API call notifications.
- ✗
AWS Config
Why it's wrong here
AWS Config is incorrect because it is a configuration management and compliance service that records changes to resource configurations and evaluates them against rules you define. It tracks the state of resources over time and can deliver configuration history and snapshot updates to SNS, but it does not provide real-time notifications for individual API calls like DeleteBucket. Config focuses on what a resource looks like after a change, not the API action that triggered the change, and its notifications are tied to configuration item changes, which occur asynchronously and are not the same as CloudTrail's event-level API alerts. Hence, it is not a suitable mechanism for real-time API call notification.
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 |
Go deeper
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Same concept, more angles
1 more way this is tested on SCS-C02
These questions test the same concept from different angles. Work through them to make sure you can recognise it however the exam phrases it.
Variation 1. A security team wants to receive real-time notifications when an IAM user makes a change to a security group. Which AWS service should be used to trigger the notification?
easy- A.AWS Config
- ✓ B.AWS CloudTrail with Amazon CloudWatch Events
- C.Amazon S3 event notifications
- D.Amazon GuardDuty
Why B: AWS CloudTrail captures API calls made by IAM users, including changes to security groups (e.g., AuthorizeSecurityGroupIngress, RevokeSecurityGroupEgress). By sending these CloudTrail events to Amazon CloudWatch Events (now part of Amazon EventBridge), you can create a rule that matches specific API calls and triggers a notification via SNS, Lambda, or other targets in real time.
JA
Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
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.