← SCS-C02·Amazon Web Services

Question 675 of 1,748

Infrastructure Security →mediumMultiple ChoiceObjective-mapped

Enforce SSH Restrictions on Security Groups Using AWS Config

This SCS-C02 practice question tests your understanding of infrastructure security. This is a configuration task: choose the command set that satisfies every stated requirement. Small differences — like 'secret' vs 'password' or 'transport input ssh' vs 'all' — change whether the answer is correct. 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 CloudFormation to deploy infrastructure. A security requirement states that no security group should allow inbound SSH access from 0.0.0.0/0. What is the best way to enforce this policy?

Clue words in this question

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

Clue: "best"
Why it matters: Signals that multiple options may be partially correct. Choose the option that most directly solves the exact problem described, not the one that sounds most complete.

A
Create an IAM policy that denies the ec2:AuthorizeSecurityGroupIngress action if the CIDR is 0.0.0.0/0.
Why wrong: IAM policies do not inspect the CIDR value.
B
Use AWS Config with a managed rule to detect and automatically remediate non-compliant security groups.
AWS Config can automatically remediate.
C
Add an AWS::IAM::Policy resource in the CloudFormation template to deny the rule.
Why wrong: CloudFormation does not enforce security rules.
D
Use a service control policy (SCP) that denies the CreateStack action if the template contains SSH from 0.0.0.0/0.
Why wrong: SCPs cannot inspect template content.

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

✓

Use AWS Config with a managed rule to detect and automatically remediate non-compliant security groups.

Option B is correct because AWS Config with a managed rule (e.g., 'restricted-ssh') can continuously evaluate security group configurations against the policy and automatically remediate non-compliant rules using AWS Systems Manager Automation. This provides detective and corrective enforcement without blocking legitimate administrative actions, unlike IAM or SCP approaches that would prevent necessary changes or fail to detect existing non-compliant resources.

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.

✗
Create an IAM policy that denies the ec2:AuthorizeSecurityGroupIngress action if the CIDR is 0.0.0.0/0.
Why it's wrong here
IAM policies do not inspect the CIDR value.
✓
Use AWS Config with a managed rule to detect and automatically remediate non-compliant security groups.
Why this is correct
AWS Config can automatically remediate.
Clue confirmation
The clue word "best" in the question point toward this answer.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
✗
Add an AWS::IAM::Policy resource in the CloudFormation template to deny the rule.
Why it's wrong here
CloudFormation does not enforce security rules.
✗
Use a service control policy (SCP) that denies the CreateStack action if the template contains SSH from 0.0.0.0/0.
Why it's wrong here
SCPs cannot inspect template content.

Common exam traps

Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword

The trap here is that candidates often choose an IAM-based deny policy (Option A) thinking it prevents the action entirely, but they overlook that AWS Config with remediation is the only option that both detects and automatically fixes existing non-compliant security groups, which is the core requirement of 'enforcing' the policy.

Detailed technical explanation

How to think about this question

AWS Config's managed rule 'restricted-ssh' evaluates security group rules by checking the IpProtocol, FromPort, ToPort, and CidrIp fields against the SSH port (22) and the 0.0.0.0/0 CIDR. When combined with an automatic remediation action (e.g., using the AWS-RevokeSecurityGroupIngress SSM document), it can remove offending rules in near real-time without manual intervention. This approach is preferred because it provides continuous compliance monitoring across all accounts and regions, whereas IAM or SCP policies are limited to preventing future actions and cannot address drift or existing non-compliant resources.

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?

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: Use AWS Config with a managed rule to detect and automatically remediate non-compliant security groups. — Option B is correct because AWS Config with a managed rule (e.g., 'restricted-ssh') can continuously evaluate security group configurations against the policy and automatically remediate non-compliant rules using AWS Systems Manager Automation. This provides detective and corrective enforcement without blocking legitimate administrative actions, unlike IAM or SCP approaches that would prevent necessary changes or fail to detect existing non-compliant resources.

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: "best". Signals that multiple options may be partially correct. Choose the option that most directly solves the exact problem described, not the one that sounds most complete.

What is the key concept behind this question?

Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.

About these practice questions

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Same concept, more angles

1 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 CloudFormation to deploy infrastructure. The security team requires that all security groups restrict SSH access to only the company's VPN public IP address range (203.0.113.0/24). A developer creates a stack that includes a security group with SSH open to 0.0.0.0/0. The stack deploys successfully. Which action should the security team take to prevent this in the future?

medium

A.Create an AWS CloudFormation stack policy to block security groups with SSH open to 0.0.0.0/0.
✓ B.Use an AWS Config managed rule to detect security groups with unrestricted SSH access and trigger an automatic remediation.
C.Implement a service control policy (SCP) to deny the ec2:AuthorizeSecurityGroupIngress action for port 22 from 0.0.0.0/0.
D.Add an IAM policy to deny the ec2:AuthorizeSecurityGroupIngress action for port 22 from 0.0.0.0/0.

Why B: Using AWS CloudFormation Stack Policies allows you to define which stack resources can be updated or deleted, but not to enforce security rules. AWS Config rules can evaluate resources against desired configurations and trigger remediation or notifications. Service control policies (SCPs) are for AWS Organizations and cannot block resource creation at the account level. IAM permissions can prevent users from creating security groups with open SSH, but that requires careful management and does not cover all cases. Option B is the correct answer because an AWS Config managed rule can detect security groups with unrestricted SSH access and trigger an automatic remediation action via AWS Systems Manager Automation.

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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.