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Question 1,484 of 1,748

Threat Detection and Incident Response →hardMultiple ChoiceObjective-mapped

How to Capture Full Packet Traffic from EC2 for Forensic Analysis Using VPC Traffic Mirroring

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.

During a security incident, a security engineer needs to capture network traffic from an EC2 instance for forensic analysis. The instance is part of an Auto Scaling group and may be terminated. What is the MOST efficient way to capture the traffic without affecting the instance's performance?

A
Use VPC Traffic Mirroring to mirror the instance's network traffic.
Traffic Mirroring is agentless and does not affect the instance.
B
Enable VPC Flow Logs for the subnet.
Why wrong: Flow Logs record metadata only, not full packet contents.
C
SSH into the instance and run tcpdump to capture packets.
Why wrong: SSH and tcpdump consume instance resources and may alter evidence.
D
Attach a Network Load Balancer in front of the instance.
Why wrong: NLB distributes traffic, not capture for forensics.

Full breakdown with real-world context →

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

✓

Use VPC Traffic Mirroring to mirror the instance's network traffic.

VPC Traffic Mirroring captures all network traffic at the hypervisor level without installing agents or consuming instance CPU/memory, making it ideal for forensic analysis of an EC2 instance that may be terminated. It works by copying packets from the source ENI to a target (e.g., a Network Load Balancer or another ENI) for inspection, ensuring zero performance impact on the production instance. This approach preserves traffic even if the instance is later terminated, as the mirror session is tied to the ENI, not the instance lifecycle.

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.

✓
Use VPC Traffic Mirroring to mirror the instance's network traffic.
Why this is correct
Traffic Mirroring is agentless and does not affect the instance.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
✗
Enable VPC Flow Logs for the subnet.
Why it's wrong here
Flow Logs record metadata only, not full packet contents.
✗
SSH into the instance and run tcpdump to capture packets.
Why it's wrong here
SSH and tcpdump consume instance resources and may alter evidence.
✗
Attach a Network Load Balancer in front of the instance.
Why it's wrong here
NLB distributes traffic, not capture for forensics.

Common exam traps

Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword

The trap here is that candidates confuse VPC Flow Logs (metadata only) with full packet capture, or assume that running tcpdump on the instance is acceptable despite the performance impact and risk of data loss upon termination.

Detailed technical explanation

How to think about this question

VPC Traffic Mirroring uses a filter (e.g., based on protocol, source/destination IP, or port range) and a session that mirrors traffic from a source ENI to a target, such as a Network Load Balancer or another ENI in the same VPC. The mirrored packets are encapsulated with a VXLAN header (UDP port 4789) to preserve the original frame, allowing tools like Suricata or Zeek to perform deep packet inspection. In real-world scenarios, this is critical for capturing encrypted traffic (e.g., TLS handshakes) or lateral movement indicators that Flow Logs cannot reveal.

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 healthcare organisation deploys an application with a public-facing web tier and a private database tier. The database subnet has no public IP and only accepts connections from the web tier's security group. Questions like this test whether you can design cloud network isolation using VNets/VPCs, subnets, and security group rules.

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.

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FAQ

Questions learners often ask

What does this SCS-C02 question test?

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: Use VPC Traffic Mirroring to mirror the instance's network traffic. — VPC Traffic Mirroring captures all network traffic at the hypervisor level without installing agents or consuming instance CPU/memory, making it ideal for forensic analysis of an EC2 instance that may be terminated. It works by copying packets from the source ENI to a target (e.g., a Network Load Balancer or another ENI) for inspection, ensuring zero performance impact on the production instance. This approach preserves traffic even if the instance is later terminated, as the mirror session is tied to the ENI, not the instance lifecycle.

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

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Same concept, more angles

1 more ways 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. During a security incident, a security engineer needs to capture network traffic between an EC2 instance and an attacker's IP address for forensic analysis. The engineer has already identified the attacker's IP from CloudTrail logs. Which action captures the traffic without affecting the instance?

hard

A.Update the network ACL to log all traffic to and from the attacker's IP.
B.Enable VPC Flow Logs on the subnet and query logs for the attacker's IP.
C.SSH into the instance and run tcpdump with a filter for the attacker's IP.
✓ D.Create a VPC Traffic Mirroring session targeting the instance's ENI and mirror the traffic to a Network Load Balancer for capture.

Why D: Option D is correct because VPC Traffic Mirroring captures all network traffic at the Elastic Network Interface (ENI) level without any performance impact or configuration change on the EC2 instance itself. It copies the traffic to a Network Load Balancer (NLB) or another target for capture and analysis, making it ideal for forensic investigation without disrupting the running instance.

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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.