- A
Use an S3 bucket policy in each account to deny PutObject without encryption.
Why wrong: This would require configuring policies on every bucket and does not prevent creation of unencrypted buckets.
- B
Use AWS Config rules to mark non-compliant buckets and automatically remediate.
Why wrong: This is reactive; buckets can be created without encryption before remediation.
- C
Enable CloudTrail and monitor for buckets without encryption.
Why wrong: This is detective, not preventive.
- D
Apply a service control policy (SCP) that denies s3:CreateBucket unless the bucket has encryption enabled.
SCPs can enforce this across all accounts in the organization.
Question 800 of 1,748
Most Effective and Scalable Way to Enforce S3 Encryption Using Service Control Policies
This SCS-C02 practice question tests your understanding of infrastructure security. 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 uses AWS Organizations with multiple accounts. The security team wants to enforce that all S3 buckets have encryption enabled. Which approach is MOST effective and scalable?
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
✓
Apply a service control policy (SCP) that denies s3:CreateBucket unless the bucket has encryption enabled.
Option D is correct because a service control policy (SCP) applied at the AWS Organizations root or OU level can centrally deny the s3:CreateBucket action unless the bucket is created with encryption enabled, using a condition key like s3:x-amz-server-side-encryption. This approach is most effective and scalable as it prevents non-compliant buckets from being created in any account under the SCP's scope, enforcing the security team's requirement proactively across all accounts without relying on per-account policies or post-creation remediation.
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 an S3 bucket policy in each account to deny PutObject without encryption.
Why it's wrong here
This would require configuring policies on every bucket and does not prevent creation of unencrypted buckets.
- ✗
Use AWS Config rules to mark non-compliant buckets and automatically remediate.
Why it's wrong here
This is reactive; buckets can be created without encryption before remediation.
- ✗
Enable CloudTrail and monitor for buckets without encryption.
Why it's wrong here
This is detective, not preventive.
- ✓
Apply a service control policy (SCP) that denies s3:CreateBucket unless the bucket has encryption enabled.
Why this is correct
SCPs can enforce this across all accounts in the organization.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is that candidates often confuse SCPs with IAM policies or resource-based policies, thinking SCPs cannot enforce conditions on API calls, or they assume AWS Config's auto-remediation is proactive when it is actually reactive.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
Service control policies (SCPs) use AWS Identity and Access Management (IAM) policy language and are evaluated before any IAM or resource-based policies, effectively blocking actions at the account level. The condition key s3:x-amz-server-side-encryption can be set to 'AES256' or 'aws:kms' to require specific encryption types; however, note that SCPs cannot enforce encryption on existing buckets—only on new CreateBucket calls—so a complementary solution like AWS Config may still be needed for legacy buckets. In a real-world multi-account environment, SCPs are the only mechanism that can enforce guardrails across all accounts without requiring per-account configuration changes.
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 media company stores terabytes of video archives that are accessed once a year for audit purposes. Moving these objects to a cold storage tier (Azure Archive, S3 Glacier, or Google Nearline) costs a fraction of hot storage. Questions like this test whether you understand storage tiers, access frequency tradeoffs, and retrieval latency requirements.
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.
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FAQ
Questions learners often ask
What does this SCS-C02 question test?
Infrastructure Security — This question tests Infrastructure Security — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Apply a service control policy (SCP) that denies s3:CreateBucket unless the bucket has encryption enabled. — Option D is correct because a service control policy (SCP) applied at the AWS Organizations root or OU level can centrally deny the s3:CreateBucket action unless the bucket is created with encryption enabled, using a condition key like s3:x-amz-server-side-encryption. This approach is most effective and scalable as it prevents non-compliant buckets from being created in any account under the SCP's scope, enforcing the security team's requirement proactively across all accounts without relying on per-account policies or post-creation remediation.
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
Courseiva creates original exam-style practice questions with explanations and wrong-answer analysis. It does not publish real exam questions, exam dumps, or protected exam content. Learn why practice questions differ from exam dumps →
Same concept, more angles
2 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. A company uses AWS Organizations with multiple accounts. The security team wants to enforce that all Amazon S3 buckets across the organization have server-side encryption (SSE-S3 or SSE-KMS) enabled. Which approach should be used to enforce this policy?
easy- A.Create an S3 bucket policy in each account to deny access to unencrypted buckets.
- B.Use AWS Config rules to detect buckets without encryption and send alerts.
- C.Create an IAM role in each account that requires encryption when creating buckets.
- ✓ D.Create a service control policy (SCP) that denies s3:CreateBucket if the bucket does not have encryption enabled.
Why D: Option D is correct because Service Control Policies (SCPs) in AWS Organizations allow you to centrally deny API actions across all accounts. By creating an SCP that denies `s3:CreateBucket` unless the request includes encryption parameters (SSE-S3 or SSE-KMS), you enforce encryption at the point of bucket creation, preventing non-compliant buckets from ever being created. This is the only approach that proactively enforces the policy across the entire organization, rather than relying on detection or per-account configurations.
Variation 2. An organization uses AWS Organizations with multiple accounts. The security team wants to enforce that all S3 buckets have server-side encryption enabled. Which approach would enforce this across all accounts?
medium- A.Create IAM roles in each account to enforce encryption.
- B.Apply an S3 bucket policy to each bucket requiring encryption.
- ✓ C.Apply a Service Control Policy that denies PutBucketPolicy or PutBucketEncryption without encryption.
- D.Use AWS Config rules to detect unencrypted buckets.
Why C: Option C is correct because a Service Control Policy (SCP) is a centralized policy in AWS Organizations that can deny actions across all accounts in the organization. By denying the s3:PutBucketPolicy and s3:PutEncryptionConfiguration actions unless encryption is specified, the SCP enforces server-side encryption on all S3 buckets, regardless of individual account configurations. This approach is effective because SCPs are applied at the organization level and cannot be overridden by account administrators.
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Last reviewed: Jul 4, 2026
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