- A
Amazon GuardDuty
Why wrong: GuardDuty relies on CloudTrail logs; enable CloudTrail first.
- B
Amazon Inspector
Why wrong: Inspector is for vulnerability assessment.
- C
AWS Config
Why wrong: Config records resource configuration, not API calls.
- D
AWS CloudTrail
CloudTrail logs all API calls.
Question 1,393 of 1,748
Which AWS Service Should Be Enabled First to Log and Monitor API Calls?
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 company needs to ensure that all API calls in their AWS account are logged and monitored for suspicious activity. Which service should be enabled first?
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.
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 CloudTrail
AWS CloudTrail is the correct first service to enable because it records all API calls made in the AWS account, including the identity, source IP, and timestamp of each call. This audit log is foundational for detecting suspicious activity, as it provides the raw data needed for analysis by other services like Amazon GuardDuty or third-party tools. Without CloudTrail, there is no record of API activity to monitor.
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.
- ✗
Amazon GuardDuty
Why it's wrong here
GuardDuty relies on CloudTrail logs; enable CloudTrail first.
- ✗
Amazon Inspector
Why it's wrong here
Inspector is for vulnerability assessment.
- ✗
AWS Config
Why it's wrong here
Config records resource configuration, not API calls.
- ✓
AWS CloudTrail
Why this is correct
CloudTrail logs all API calls.
Clue confirmation
The clue word "first" in the question point toward this answer.
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 choose Amazon GuardDuty (Option A) because it is a dedicated threat detection service, but they overlook that GuardDuty relies on CloudTrail as a data source and cannot log API calls itself.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
CloudTrail delivers log files to an S3 bucket in JSON format, with each event containing the `eventSource`, `eventName`, `userIdentity`, and `sourceIPAddress` fields. By default, CloudTrail creates a trail that logs management events for all regions, but to capture data events (e.g., S3 object-level operations), you must enable them explicitly via the `PutEventSelectors` API. In a real-world scenario, enabling CloudTrail first ensures that all subsequent API calls are recorded, allowing GuardDuty to later analyze those logs for indicators of compromise like unusual geolocations or credential misuse.
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: AWS CloudTrail — AWS CloudTrail is the correct first service to enable because it records all API calls made in the AWS account, including the identity, source IP, and timestamp of each call. This audit log is foundational for detecting suspicious activity, as it provides the raw data needed for analysis by other services like Amazon GuardDuty or third-party tools. Without CloudTrail, there is no record of API activity to monitor.
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.
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
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 security engineer needs to ensure that all API calls in an AWS account are logged for incident response. Which AWS service should be enabled?
easy- A.Amazon GuardDuty
- B.VPC Flow Logs
- C.AWS Config
- ✓ D.AWS CloudTrail
Why D: AWS CloudTrail is the correct service because it records all API calls made in an AWS account, including the identity of the caller, the time of the call, the source IP address, and the request parameters. This logging is essential for incident response to reconstruct events and identify unauthorized or malicious activity.
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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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