- A
AWS Organizations
Organizations allows you to centrally manage trails across member accounts using a single organization trail.
- B
AWS CloudTrail
CloudTrail records all API calls including failed ones.
- C
AWS IAM Access Analyzer
Why wrong: IAM Access Analyzer identifies resources shared with external entities, not API monitoring.
- D
Amazon CloudWatch Logs
CloudWatch Logs can ingest CloudTrail logs and create metric filters for AccessDenied events.
- E
AWS Config
Why wrong: AWS Config evaluates resource configuration, not API calls.
SCS-C02 Security Logging and Monitoring Practice Question
This SCS-C02 practice question tests your understanding of security logging and monitoring. 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 company wants to monitor for unauthorized API calls in real-time. The solution must meet the following requirements: - Detect calls that fail authentication (AccessDenied). - Detect calls that use a revoked IAM role. - Provide a centralized view across multiple accounts. Which THREE services should be used together to implement this solution? (Choose three.)
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
AWS Organizations
AWS Organizations is correct because it enables centralized management of multiple AWS accounts, allowing the solution to aggregate CloudTrail logs from all accounts into a single CloudWatch Logs group. This centralization is essential for real-time monitoring of unauthorized API calls across the entire organization, as CloudTrail logs record all API activity including AccessDenied errors and actions taken by revoked IAM roles.
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.
- ✓
AWS Organizations
Why this is correct
Organizations allows you to centrally manage trails across member accounts using a single organization trail.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
- ✓
AWS CloudTrail
Why this is correct
CloudTrail records all API calls including failed ones.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
- ✗
AWS IAM Access Analyzer
Why it's wrong here
IAM Access Analyzer identifies resources shared with external entities, not API monitoring.
- ✓
Amazon CloudWatch Logs
Why this is correct
CloudWatch Logs can ingest CloudTrail logs and create metric filters for AccessDenied events.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
- ✗
AWS Config
Why it's wrong here
AWS Config evaluates resource configuration, not API calls.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is that candidates often confuse AWS IAM Access Analyzer with CloudTrail for monitoring API calls, but Access Analyzer only analyzes resource policies for external access, not real-time API activity or authentication failures.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
CloudTrail delivers log files to CloudWatch Logs via a trail configuration, where log events can be processed in near real-time using metric filters and alarms. When an IAM role is revoked (e.g., by deleting the role or its trust policy), subsequent API calls using that role's credentials will fail with an AccessDenied error, which CloudTrail records as an event with the errorCode field set to 'AccessDenied'. CloudWatch Logs can then trigger an alarm based on a metric filter that counts these specific error codes, enabling immediate notification.
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 company's IT admin needs to give a contractor read-only access to production logs without sharing account credentials. Using role-based access control (RBAC) and temporary scoped permissions — not a permanent shared password — is the correct pattern. Questions like this test whether you can apply least-privilege access across cloud identity services.
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: AWS Organizations — AWS Organizations is correct because it enables centralized management of multiple AWS accounts, allowing the solution to aggregate CloudTrail logs from all accounts into a single CloudWatch Logs group. This centralization is essential for real-time monitoring of unauthorized API calls across the entire organization, as CloudTrail logs record all API activity including AccessDenied errors and actions taken by revoked IAM roles.
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
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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