The answer is that the request fails because the SCP deny overrides the IAM allow. This occurs because Service Control Policies in AWS Organizations establish a permission boundary that applies to every principal in the account, and an explicit deny in an SCP always takes precedence over any allow, regardless of where that allow originates. On the AWS Certified Security Specialty SCS-C02 exam, this concept tests your understanding of the evaluation logic hierarchy, where SCPs act as a guardrail that can block permissions even when an IAM policy explicitly grants them. A common trap is assuming that a user-level IAM allow can bypass an organizational SCP, but the key is that SCPs are not resource-based policies—they are account-wide filters. Memory tip: think of SCPs as the “master off switch” for an entire account; no matter how many IAM allows you add, if the SCP says deny, the action is blocked.
SCS-C02 Identity and Access Management Practice Question
This SCS-C02 practice question tests your understanding of identity and access management. The scenario asks you to isolate a root cause — eliminate options that address a different problem before choosing. 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.
An IAM policy attached to a user allows s3:GetObject on bucket 'my-bucket'. The user also has a service control policy (SCP) in the organization that denies s3:GetObject on all resources. The user attempts to download an object from 'my-bucket'. What is the outcome?
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
The request fails because the SCP explicitly denies the action.
The request fails because AWS Organizations Service Control Policies (SCPs) act as a boundary for all accounts within the organization. An explicit deny in an SCP overrides any allow from an IAM policy, including those attached to the user. Since the SCP denies s3:GetObject on all resources, the user's IAM policy allowing the same action is effectively blocked, resulting in a failed request.
Key principle: Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
✓
The request fails because the SCP explicitly denies the action.
Why this is correct
Explicit deny in SCP overrides allow.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
✗
The request succeeds because the IAM policy allows it.
Why it's wrong here
SCP deny overrides IAM allow.
✗
The request fails because the SCP effect is 'Allow' and the IAM policy is 'Deny'.
Why it's wrong here
SCP effect is deny, not allow.
✗
The request succeeds because the user is in the management account.
Why it's wrong here
SCPs apply to management account except root user.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is that candidates often forget that SCPs apply to all accounts in the organization, including the management account, and that an explicit deny in an SCP overrides any allow from IAM policies, leading them to incorrectly assume the IAM policy alone determines the outcome.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
Under the hood, AWS evaluates policies in a hierarchical order: explicit deny in any policy (SCP, IAM, resource-based) always overrides any allow. SCPs set a maximum permission boundary for all IAM principals in an account; even if an IAM policy grants access, the SCP's deny acts as a hard block. In real-world scenarios, this prevents privilege escalation across accounts, ensuring that even a full-admin IAM user cannot bypass organization-wide restrictions.
KKey Concepts to Remember
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
Find the constraint that changes the correct option.
Eliminate answers that are true in general but not in this case.
TExam Day Tips
→Watch for words such as best, first, most likely and least administrative effort.
→Review why wrong options are wrong, not only why the correct option is correct.
Key takeaway
Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Real-world example
How this comes up in practice
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
Got this wrong? Here's your next step.
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
Identity and Access Management — This question tests Identity and Access Management — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: The request fails because the SCP explicitly denies the action. — The request fails because AWS Organizations Service Control Policies (SCPs) act as a boundary for all accounts within the organization. An explicit deny in an SCP overrides any allow from an IAM policy, including those attached to the user. Since the SCP denies s3:GetObject on all resources, the user's IAM policy allowing the same action is effectively blocked, resulting in a failed request.
What should I do if I get this SCS-C02 question wrong?
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
What is the key concept behind this question?
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
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Question Discussion
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