- A
Delete the IAM role that is allowed access to the bucket.
Why wrong: Deleting the role could affect other services that depend on it.
- B
Use AWS WAF to block the IP addresses of the compromised role.
Why wrong: AWS WAF is for web traffic, not S3 access.
- C
Modify the bucket policy to deny all principals.
Why wrong: The compromised role might have iam:PutRolePolicy permissions to revert.
- D
Add a bucket policy statement that denies access unless the request comes from a specific IP address that does not exist.
A deny condition with an impossible IP address blocks all access effectively.
Question 1,111 of 1,748
SCS-C02 Infrastructure Security Practice Question
This SCS-C02 practice question tests your understanding of infrastructure security. 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 is investigating a potential data exfiltration from an Amazon S3 bucket. The bucket policy allows access to a specific IAM role, but the engineer suspects that the role has been compromised. The engineer wants to quickly block all access to the bucket without deleting the bucket or the policy. What is the BEST course of action?
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
✓
Add a bucket policy statement that denies access unless the request comes from a specific IP address that does not exist.
Option D is correct because adding a bucket policy statement that denies access unless the request originates from a specific IP address that does not exist effectively blocks all traffic to the bucket. This approach leverages the explicit deny in AWS IAM policy evaluation logic, which overrides any allow, and does not require deleting the bucket or the existing policy. It provides an immediate, reversible block without altering the original policy structure or the IAM role.
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.
- ✗
Delete the IAM role that is allowed access to the bucket.
Why it's wrong here
Deleting the role could affect other services that depend on it.
- ✗
Use AWS WAF to block the IP addresses of the compromised role.
Why it's wrong here
AWS WAF is for web traffic, not S3 access.
- ✗
Modify the bucket policy to deny all principals.
Why it's wrong here
The compromised role might have iam:PutRolePolicy permissions to revert.
- ✓
Add a bucket policy statement that denies access unless the request comes from a specific IP address that does not exist.
Why this is correct
A deny condition with an impossible IP address blocks all access effectively.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is that candidates may think modifying the bucket policy to deny all principals (Option C) is acceptable, but the question explicitly forbids deleting the policy, and modifying it to deny all principals is a form of policy deletion; the correct approach uses a conditional deny with an impossible condition to avoid altering the original policy structure.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
Under the hood, AWS IAM policy evaluation uses an explicit deny as a final override, meaning any deny statement takes precedence over any allow. By specifying a deny condition with a non-existent IP address (e.g., 0.0.0.0/32), the condition can never be satisfied, so all requests are denied. This technique is often used for emergency access revocation without altering the original allow logic, and it can be easily removed later by deleting the temporary deny statement.
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.
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 |
What to study next
Got this wrong? Here's your next step.
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FAQ
Questions learners often ask
What does this SCS-C02 question test?
Infrastructure Security — This question tests Infrastructure Security — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Add a bucket policy statement that denies access unless the request comes from a specific IP address that does not exist. — Option D is correct because adding a bucket policy statement that denies access unless the request originates from a specific IP address that does not exist effectively blocks all traffic to the bucket. This approach leverages the explicit deny in AWS IAM policy evaluation logic, which overrides any allow, and does not require deleting the bucket or the existing policy. It provides an immediate, reversible block without altering the original policy structure or the IAM role.
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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Last reviewed: Jul 4, 2026
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