The correct architecture is to designate a delegated administrator account in AWS Organizations and enable GuardDuty from that account. This is the right approach because AWS Organizations supports a delegated administrator model, where a single account is authorized to centrally manage GuardDuty across all member accounts, automatically enabling the service and aggregating findings without manual per-account setup. On the AWS Certified Security Specialty SCS-C02 exam, this concept tests your understanding of centralized security management at scale, often appearing in scenario-based questions that contrast the delegated administrator method with the older, manual invitation-based approach. A common trap is assuming you must enable GuardDuty in the management account itself, but the delegated administrator account is the correct, scalable choice for operational separation. Remember the mnemonic: “Delegate, don’t dominate” — use a delegated admin account, not the root management account, for centralized GuardDuty control.
SCS-C02 Threat Detection and Incident Response Practice Question
This SCS-C02 practice question tests your understanding of threat detection and incident response. 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.
An organization uses AWS Organizations and wants to centrally manage Amazon GuardDuty across multiple accounts. What is the correct architecture?
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Designate a delegated administrator account in Organizations and enable GuardDuty in that account.
Option C is correct because AWS Organizations allows you to designate a delegated administrator account for Amazon GuardDuty, which can then centrally manage GuardDuty across all member accounts in the organization. This architecture simplifies enabling GuardDuty and managing findings without needing to configure each account individually, as the delegated administrator can enable GuardDuty for all accounts in the organization from a single point.
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.
✗
Enable GuardDuty only in the master account; it will automatically monitor all member accounts.
Why it's wrong here
GuardDuty does not automatically monitor member accounts; each account needs to be enabled.
✗
Use AWS CloudFormation StackSets to deploy GuardDuty in all accounts and regions.
Why it's wrong here
StackSets can deploy, but central management requires delegated admin.
✓
Designate a delegated administrator account in Organizations and enable GuardDuty in that account.
Why this is correct
Delegated admin can manage GuardDuty across member accounts.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
✗
Enable GuardDuty in each region separately and use cross-region aggregation.
Why it's wrong here
GuardDuty findings can be aggregated, but multi-account management requires delegated admin.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is that candidates often assume enabling GuardDuty in the master account automatically covers all member accounts (Option A), but in reality, GuardDuty requires explicit member account management or a delegated administrator setup, and the delegated administrator model is the recommended architecture for centralized management in Organizations.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
When you designate a delegated administrator for GuardDuty in AWS Organizations, that account can enable GuardDuty for all member accounts in the organization using the EnableOrganizationAdminAccount API, which automatically creates a service-linked role (AWSServiceRoleForAmazonGuardDuty) in each member account. This approach ensures that findings from all accounts and regions are aggregated in the delegated administrator's GuardDuty console, and you can use AWS Security Hub to further centralize findings across services. A subtle behavior is that the delegated administrator must be in the same region as the GuardDuty master account, and you must enable GuardDuty in each region separately if you need multi-region coverage, but the delegated administrator manages all regions centrally.
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 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
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.
Threat Detection and Incident Response — This question tests Threat Detection and Incident Response — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Designate a delegated administrator account in Organizations and enable GuardDuty in that account. — Option C is correct because AWS Organizations allows you to designate a delegated administrator account for Amazon GuardDuty, which can then centrally manage GuardDuty across all member accounts in the organization. This architecture simplifies enabling GuardDuty and managing findings without needing to configure each account individually, as the delegated administrator can enable GuardDuty for all accounts in the organization from a single point.
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.
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 →
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.
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.