The answer is to isolate the instance by modifying the security group to deny all traffic, then immediately create an EBS snapshot of the root volume and preserve the instance’s memory. The snapshot is critical because it captures the exact block-level disk state, including ransomware binaries, encrypted files, and any residual encryption keys, without altering the original evidence. On the AWS Certified Security Specialty SCS-C02 exam, this scenario tests your understanding of the forensic preservation workflow during containment, where the common trap is to terminate the instance or detach the volume without a snapshot, destroying volatile artifacts. Remember that isolation via security group prevents lateral movement while the snapshot preserves the immutable disk image for offline analysis. A useful memory tip is “Isolate, Snapshot, Analyze”—never terminate or reboot before capturing the evidence, as doing so erases memory and disk metadata crucial for attribution.
SCS-C02 Threat Detection and Incident Response Practice Question
This SCS-C02 practice question tests your understanding of threat detection and incident response. Read the scenario carefully and evaluate each option against the stated constraints before committing to an answer. 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's security team is implementing an incident response plan for a potential ransomware attack on their EC2 instances. Which THREE steps should the team take to preserve forensic evidence while containing the incident?
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Create an EBS snapshot of the root volume.
Option A is correct because creating an EBS snapshot of the root volume preserves the exact disk state at the time of the incident, including any ransomware artifacts, file system metadata, and encryption keys. This snapshot can be used for offline forensic analysis without altering the original evidence, as it captures the block-level data of the volume.
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 EBS snapshot of the root volume.
Why this is correct
A snapshot preserves the root volume data.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
✓
Create an Amazon Machine Image (AMI) of the compromised instance.
Why this is correct
An AMI captures the state of the instance for forensic analysis.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
✓
Isolate the instance by modifying the security group to deny all traffic.
Why this is correct
Isolation prevents the ransomware from spreading.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
✗
Stop the instance to preserve its state.
Why it's wrong here
Stopping may lose volatile memory data; better to snapshot first.
✗
Delete the compromised instance immediately.
Why it's wrong here
Deleting destroys evidence.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is that candidates often confuse 'stopping' an instance with 'preserving state,' but stopping triggers a graceful shutdown that can alter evidence, whereas an EBS snapshot captures the live disk state without halting the instance.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
EBS snapshots are point-in-time, crash-consistent copies stored in Amazon S3, and they capture the entire block-level state including deleted files (if not overwritten) and encryption metadata. In a ransomware scenario, the snapshot can be used to mount the volume on a forensics instance in an isolated environment to extract indicators of compromise (IOCs) like ransomware binaries, ransom notes, or encryption logs without risking further spread. The snapshot also preserves the volume's encryption context if AWS KMS keys are used, which is critical for decrypting the evidence later.
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 healthcare organisation deploys an application with a public-facing web tier and a private database tier. The database subnet has no public IP and only accepts connections from the web tier's security group. Questions like this test whether you can design cloud network isolation using VNets/VPCs, subnets, and security group rules.
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.
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: Create an EBS snapshot of the root volume. — Option A is correct because creating an EBS snapshot of the root volume preserves the exact disk state at the time of the incident, including any ransomware artifacts, file system metadata, and encryption keys. This snapshot can be used for offline forensic analysis without altering the original evidence, as it captures the block-level data of the volume.
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 →
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 is investigating a potential compromise of an EC2 instance. The engineer wants to capture volatile memory data and create a forensic image of the instance's EBS volumes. Which TWO actions should the engineer take? (Choose 2.)
medium
A.Enable AWS CloudTrail for the instance.
✓ B.Use AWS Systems Manager Run Command to execute a memory capture script.
C.Use AWS Backup to create a backup of the instance.
✓ D.Create an Amazon EBS snapshot of the instance's root volume.
E.Use Amazon Inspector to scan the instance for vulnerabilities.
Why B: Option B is correct because AWS Systems Manager Run Command allows you to remotely execute scripts on EC2 instances without needing SSH access, which is critical during incident response to capture volatile memory data before the instance is compromised further. Option D is correct because creating an EBS snapshot provides a point-in-time forensic image of the root volume that can be analyzed offline without altering the original evidence.
Variation 2. A security engineer is investigating a potential compromise of an EC2 instance. The engineer wants to capture memory and disk forensics without shutting down the instance. Which service should the engineer use?
easy
A.AWS Config
✓ B.AWS Systems Manager
C.EC2 Instance Connect
D.Amazon CloudWatch Logs
Why B: AWS Systems Manager (SSM) is the correct service because it provides the capability to perform forensic data collection on a running EC2 instance without shutting it down. Specifically, SSM Automation documents like AWS-RunShellScript or AWS-GatherEC2InstanceInfo can execute commands to capture memory (e.g., using LiME or fmem) and disk forensics (e.g., dd or volume snapshots) via the SSM Agent, which runs as a system service and does not require instance termination.
Share a tip, memory trick, or ask about the reasoning behind this question. Do not post real exam questions, leaked content, braindumps, or copyrighted exam material. Comments are moderated and may be removed without notice.
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.
Question Discussion
Share a tip, memory trick, or ask about the reasoning behind this question. Do not post real exam questions, leaked content, braindumps, or copyrighted exam material. Comments are moderated and may be removed without notice.
Sign in to join the discussion.