- A
Send all logs to CloudWatch Logs and set a retention policy of one year.
Why wrong: CloudWatch Logs is more expensive for long-term storage compared to S3, and retention for one year would incur high costs.
- B
Send logs directly to an S3 bucket and use Amazon Athena to query logs in real time.
Why wrong: S3 does not support real-time search; Athena is for ad-hoc queries on stored data, not real-time alerting.
- C
Use the CloudWatch agent to send logs to CloudWatch Logs for real-time monitoring, then export logs to Amazon S3 daily, and use S3 lifecycle policies to expire logs after one year.
This provides real-time monitoring via CloudWatch Logs and cost-effective long-term storage in S3.
- D
Send logs to Amazon OpenSearch Service (formerly Elasticsearch) with a one-year retention policy.
Why wrong: OpenSearch Service provides real-time search but requires ongoing cluster management, increasing operational overhead.
Quick Answer
The answer is to use the CloudWatch agent to send logs to CloudWatch Logs for real-time monitoring, then export logs to Amazon S3 daily, and use S3 lifecycle policies to expire logs after one year. This solution is correct because it separates the real-time ingestion and search needs from the long-term compliance storage, leveraging CloudWatch Logs for immediate alerting and S3’s low-cost durability for archival. On the AWS Certified Security Specialty SCS-C02 exam, this pattern tests your understanding of cost-optimized centralized logging with CloudWatch Logs and S3 for long-term retention, often trapping candidates who choose S3 alone (no real-time search) or Amazon OpenSearch Service (higher operational overhead). The key insight is that CloudWatch Logs is ideal for live monitoring, but its storage costs become prohibitive beyond 30 days, making S3 the natural tier for year-long compliance. Memory tip: “Live in Logs, archive in S3” — keep the hot path cheap and the cold path compliant.
SCS-C02 Security Logging and Monitoring Practice Question
This SCS-C02 practice question tests your understanding of security logging and monitoring. Read the scenario carefully and evaluate each option against the stated constraints before committing to an answer. 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 company is migrating its on-premises log aggregation system to AWS. They have multiple applications running on EC2 instances that generate logs in JSON format. The security team needs a centralized logging solution that can ingest logs from all instances, store them durably, and allow real-time searching and alerting. The team also needs to retain logs for at least one year for compliance. The current plan is to use Amazon CloudWatch Logs for ingestion and search, but the team is concerned about the cost of long-term storage and the need for ad-hoc querying. Which solution meets the requirements with the LEAST operational overhead?
Clue words in this question
Noticing these words before you look at the options changes how you read each choice.
Clue:
"least"Why it matters: You want the option with minimum overhead, fewest steps, or lowest impact — not the most feature-rich or comprehensive answer.
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 the CloudWatch agent to send logs to CloudWatch Logs for real-time monitoring, then export logs to Amazon S3 daily, and use S3 lifecycle policies to expire logs after one year.
The correct answer is B. Sending logs to CloudWatch Logs for real-time monitoring and then exporting them to S3 for long-term, low-cost storage is a common pattern. S3 lifecycle policies can manage retention. Option A is incorrect because CloudWatch Logs alone for one year would be expensive. Option C is incorrect because S3 alone does not provide real-time search capabilities. Option D is incorrect because Amazon ES (OpenSearch) could work but adds operational overhead for cluster management, and the requirement is least overhead.
Key principle: NAT direction and interface roles matter as much as the IP address mapping. Inside/outside designation controls which traffic is translated.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Send all logs to CloudWatch Logs and set a retention policy of one year.
Why it's wrong here
CloudWatch Logs is more expensive for long-term storage compared to S3, and retention for one year would incur high costs.
- ✗
Send logs directly to an S3 bucket and use Amazon Athena to query logs in real time.
Why it's wrong here
S3 does not support real-time search; Athena is for ad-hoc queries on stored data, not real-time alerting.
- ✓
Use the CloudWatch agent to send logs to CloudWatch Logs for real-time monitoring, then export logs to Amazon S3 daily, and use S3 lifecycle policies to expire logs after one year.
Why this is correct
This provides real-time monitoring via CloudWatch Logs and cost-effective long-term storage in S3.
Clue confirmation
The clue word "least" in the question point toward this answer.
Related concept
Static NAT maps one inside address to one outside address.
- ✗
Send logs to Amazon OpenSearch Service (formerly Elasticsearch) with a one-year retention policy.
Why it's wrong here
OpenSearch Service provides real-time search but requires ongoing cluster management, increasing operational overhead.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: NAT rules depend on direction and matching traffic
NAT is not only about the public address. The inside/outside interface roles and the ACL or rule that matches traffic are just as important.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
NAT questions usually test address translation, overload/PAT behaviour, static mappings and whether the right traffic is being translated. Read the interface direction and address terms carefully.
KKey Concepts to Remember
- Static NAT maps one inside address to one outside address.
- PAT allows many inside hosts to share one public address using ports.
- Inside local and inside global describe the private and translated addresses.
- NAT ACLs identify traffic for translation, not always security filtering.
TExam Day Tips
- Identify inside and outside interfaces first.
- Check whether the scenario needs static NAT, dynamic NAT or PAT.
- Do not confuse NAT matching ACLs with normal packet-filtering intent.
Key takeaway
NAT direction and interface roles matter as much as the IP address mapping. Inside/outside designation controls which traffic is translated.
Real-world example
How this comes up in practice
A startup's cloud architect reviews their monthly bill and notices costs are higher than expected for a long-running batch job. Switching from on-demand instances to Reserved Instances — or using Spot/Preemptible VMs — can reduce compute costs by up to 72 %. Questions like this test whether you understand the tradeoffs between commitment, flexibility, and cost across cloud pricing models.
What to study next
Got this wrong? Here's your next step.
Review the four NAT address types (inside local, inside global, outside local, outside global), PAT port overload, and static vs dynamic NAT use cases. Then practise related SCS-C02 NAT questions on configuration and troubleshooting.
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Security Logging and Monitoring — study guide chapter
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FAQ
Questions learners often ask
What does this SCS-C02 question test?
Security Logging and Monitoring — This question tests Security Logging and Monitoring — Static NAT maps one inside address to one outside address..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Use the CloudWatch agent to send logs to CloudWatch Logs for real-time monitoring, then export logs to Amazon S3 daily, and use S3 lifecycle policies to expire logs after one year. — The correct answer is B. Sending logs to CloudWatch Logs for real-time monitoring and then exporting them to S3 for long-term, low-cost storage is a common pattern. S3 lifecycle policies can manage retention. Option A is incorrect because CloudWatch Logs alone for one year would be expensive. Option C is incorrect because S3 alone does not provide real-time search capabilities. Option D is incorrect because Amazon ES (OpenSearch) could work but adds operational overhead for cluster management, and the requirement is least overhead.
What should I do if I get this SCS-C02 question wrong?
Review the four NAT address types (inside local, inside global, outside local, outside global), PAT port overload, and static vs dynamic NAT use cases. Then practise related SCS-C02 NAT questions on configuration and troubleshooting.
Are there clue words in this question I should notice?
Yes — watch for: "least". You want the option with minimum overhead, fewest steps, or lowest impact — not the most feature-rich or comprehensive answer.
What is the key concept behind this question?
Static NAT maps one inside address to one outside address.
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Last reviewed: Jun 20, 2026
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.
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