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Question 942 of 1,748

Security Logging and Monitoring →hardMultiple ChoiceObjective-mapped

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 using Amazon CloudWatch Logs to store application logs. The security team needs to retain logs for 7 years to comply with regulatory requirements. The logs are accessed infrequently after the first 90 days. What is the MOST cost-effective way to meet these retention and access requirements?

Clue words in this question

Noticing these words before you look at the options changes how you read each choice.

Clue: "first"
Why it matters: Order matters here. You are being tested on which action comes before the others — not which action is generally useful.

A
Export logs from CloudWatch Logs to an S3 bucket, then use S3 Lifecycle policies to transition logs to S3 Glacier Deep Archive after 90 days.
This approach minimizes cost by using low-cost archival storage for data rarely accessed.
B
Stream logs to an S3 bucket using Kinesis, then use S3 Lifecycle policies to transition logs to S3 Standard-IA after 90 days.
Why wrong: Standard-IA is not the cheapest option for archival; Glacier Deep Archive is more cost-effective.
C
Set a retention policy on the CloudWatch Logs log group to 7 years and use CloudWatch Logs Insights for queries.
Why wrong: CloudWatch Logs Insights is for real-time analysis, not cost-effective archival.
D
Set a retention policy on the CloudWatch Logs log group to 7 years and use CloudWatch Logs lifecycle policies to transition to Amazon S3 Glacier.
Why wrong: CloudWatch Logs does not support lifecycle policies to Glacier; it only supports S3 export.

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

✓

Export logs from CloudWatch Logs to an S3 bucket, then use S3 Lifecycle policies to transition logs to S3 Glacier Deep Archive after 90 days.

Option A is correct because exporting logs from CloudWatch Logs to Amazon S3 and using S3 Lifecycle policies to transition them to S3 Glacier Deep Archive after 90 days is the most cost-effective solution. CloudWatch Logs storage costs are higher than S3, and Glacier Deep Archive offers the lowest storage cost for infrequently accessed data that must be retained for 7 years. This approach meets the retention requirement while minimizing costs for logs that are rarely accessed after the initial 90-day period.

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.

✓
Export logs from CloudWatch Logs to an S3 bucket, then use S3 Lifecycle policies to transition logs to S3 Glacier Deep Archive after 90 days.
Why this is correct
This approach minimizes cost by using low-cost archival storage for data rarely accessed.
Clue confirmation
The clue word "first" in the question point toward this answer.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
✗
Stream logs to an S3 bucket using Kinesis, then use S3 Lifecycle policies to transition logs to S3 Standard-IA after 90 days.
Why it's wrong here
Standard-IA is not the cheapest option for archival; Glacier Deep Archive is more cost-effective.
✗
Set a retention policy on the CloudWatch Logs log group to 7 years and use CloudWatch Logs Insights for queries.
Why it's wrong here
CloudWatch Logs Insights is for real-time analysis, not cost-effective archival.
✗
Set a retention policy on the CloudWatch Logs log group to 7 years and use CloudWatch Logs lifecycle policies to transition to Amazon S3 Glacier.
Why it's wrong here
CloudWatch Logs does not support lifecycle policies to Glacier; it only supports S3 export.

Common exam traps

Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword

The trap here is that candidates may incorrectly assume CloudWatch Logs can directly transition logs to Glacier via lifecycle policies, but CloudWatch Logs does not support lifecycle transitions to S3 storage classes; logs must first be exported to S3.

Detailed technical explanation

How to think about this question

CloudWatch Logs supports exporting log data to an S3 bucket via the CreateExportTask API, which can be automated with a scheduled Lambda function or AWS Backup. S3 Lifecycle policies can transition objects from S3 Standard to S3 Glacier Deep Archive after 90 days, with a minimum storage duration of 180 days for Deep Archive, but the 90-day transition is allowed because the logs are initially stored in S3 Standard. This approach leverages the lowest-cost storage tier for long-term retention, with retrieval times of 12 hours for Deep Archive, which is acceptable for infrequent access.

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 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.

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.

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?

Security Logging and Monitoring — This question tests Security Logging and Monitoring — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..

What is the correct answer to this question?

The correct answer is: Export logs from CloudWatch Logs to an S3 bucket, then use S3 Lifecycle policies to transition logs to S3 Glacier Deep Archive after 90 days. — Option A is correct because exporting logs from CloudWatch Logs to Amazon S3 and using S3 Lifecycle policies to transition them to S3 Glacier Deep Archive after 90 days is the most cost-effective solution. CloudWatch Logs storage costs are higher than S3, and Glacier Deep Archive offers the lowest storage cost for infrequently accessed data that must be retained for 7 years. This approach meets the retention requirement while minimizing costs for logs that are rarely accessed after the initial 90-day period.

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.

Are there clue words in this question I should notice?

Yes — watch for: "first". Order matters here. You are being tested on which action comes before the others — not which action is generally useful.

What is the key concept behind this question?

Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.

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