- A
Check VPC Flow Logs for traffic from the instance to unusual destinations.
Why wrong: VPC Flow Logs do not indicate which IAM role is used.
- B
Review AWS CloudTrail logs for the instance's IAM role and look for source IP addresses outside the VPC.
Why wrong: Manual analysis is less efficient than automated detection.
- C
Enable Amazon GuardDuty and look for the finding type 'UnauthorizedAccess:IAMUser/InstanceCredentialExfiltration'.
GuardDuty automatically detects credential exfiltration.
- D
Use IAM Access Analyzer to review the trust policy of the instance's IAM role.
Why wrong: Access Analyzer does not detect credential misuse.
Question 809 of 1,748
SCS-C02 Threat Detection and Incident Response Practice Question
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.
A security engineer notices suspicious API calls from an EC2 instance that has an IAM role attached. The engineer wants to quickly determine if the instance's credentials have been compromised and are being used from an external IP address. What is the most efficient way to detect this?
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
✓
Enable Amazon GuardDuty and look for the finding type 'UnauthorizedAccess:IAMUser/InstanceCredentialExfiltration'.
Option C is correct because Amazon GuardDuty's finding type 'UnauthorizedAccess:IAMUser/InstanceCredentialExfiltration' is specifically designed to detect when EC2 instance credentials (from an IAM role) are being used from an external IP address. GuardDuty analyzes CloudTrail management events, VPC Flow Logs, and DNS logs to identify anomalous API calls where the source IP is outside the VPC, indicating credential exfiltration. This is the most efficient method as it provides a pre-built, automated detection without manual log analysis.
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.
- ✗
Check VPC Flow Logs for traffic from the instance to unusual destinations.
Why it's wrong here
VPC Flow Logs do not indicate which IAM role is used.
- ✗
Review AWS CloudTrail logs for the instance's IAM role and look for source IP addresses outside the VPC.
Why it's wrong here
Manual analysis is less efficient than automated detection.
- ✓
Enable Amazon GuardDuty and look for the finding type 'UnauthorizedAccess:IAMUser/InstanceCredentialExfiltration'.
Why this is correct
GuardDuty automatically detects credential exfiltration.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
- ✗
Use IAM Access Analyzer to review the trust policy of the instance's IAM role.
Why it's wrong here
Access Analyzer does not detect credential misuse.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is that candidates assume manual log analysis (CloudTrail or VPC Flow Logs) is the fastest approach, but GuardDuty provides automated, real-time detection specifically for this exfiltration pattern, making it the most efficient choice.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
GuardDuty's 'InstanceCredentialExfiltration' finding leverages machine learning to detect when an EC2 instance's temporary security credentials (from the instance profile) are used from an IP address that is not associated with the instance's VPC, often indicating the credentials have been copied and reused from an attacker's host. This detection works by correlating CloudTrail events for the IAM role with the source IP address, and it is triggered even if the credentials are still valid (within the 6-hour default session duration). In a real-world scenario, an attacker might exfiltrate credentials via a reverse shell or SSRF and then use them from a remote server, which GuardDuty can flag within minutes.
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?
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: Enable Amazon GuardDuty and look for the finding type 'UnauthorizedAccess:IAMUser/InstanceCredentialExfiltration'. — Option C is correct because Amazon GuardDuty's finding type 'UnauthorizedAccess:IAMUser/InstanceCredentialExfiltration' is specifically designed to detect when EC2 instance credentials (from an IAM role) are being used from an external IP address. GuardDuty analyzes CloudTrail management events, VPC Flow Logs, and DNS logs to identify anomalous API calls where the source IP is outside the VPC, indicating credential exfiltration. This is the most efficient method as it provides a pre-built, automated detection without manual log analysis.
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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