The correct answer is to create a GuardDuty suppression rule that automatically archives findings for that IAM user. This is the most effective and secure approach because suppression rules allow you to define specific criteria—such as the finding type 'UnauthorizedAccess:IAMUser/MaliciousIPCaller' combined with the IAM user's ARN—to automatically archive false positives without disabling the entire GuardDuty service or affecting detection for other users. On the AWS Certified Security Specialty SCS-C02 exam, this scenario tests your understanding of how to surgically reduce noise while maintaining security coverage; a common trap is choosing to disable the finding type entirely, which would suppress legitimate alerts for all users, or attempting to modify IAM permissions, which has no effect on GuardDuty. Remember the memory tip: "Suppress the signal, not the service"—use criteria-based rules to archive only the known false positives, keeping GuardDuty fully operational for genuine threats.
SCS-C02 Security Logging and Monitoring Practice Question
This SCS-C02 practice question tests your understanding of security logging and monitoring. 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 is using Amazon GuardDuty to detect threats in its AWS environment. The security team notices that GuardDuty is generating a high number of 'UnauthorizedAccess:IAMUser/MaliciousIPCaller' findings for an IAM user that is used by a legacy application. The security team has verified that the IP addresses flagged are not malicious but are legitimate IPs used by the application's third-party service. The company wants to suppress these findings without disabling GuardDuty entirely. Which solution is the MOST effective and secure?
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Create a GuardDuty suppression rule that automatically archives findings for that IAM user.
GuardDuty supports suppression rules that allow you to automatically archive findings that match certain criteria. You can create a suppression rule based on the finding type and the IAM user's ARN to automatically archive these false positives. Option C is correct because it uses GuardDuty's built-in suppression feature. Option A is wrong because disabling the finding type would suppress all similar findings for all users, which is too broad. Option B is wrong because modifying the IAM user's permissions does not affect GuardDuty findings. Option D is wrong because creating a VPC flow log filter does not suppress GuardDuty findings.
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.
✗
Disable the specific finding type in GuardDuty settings.
Why it's wrong here
Disabling the finding type suppresses all findings of that type, which may hide real threats.
✓
Create a GuardDuty suppression rule that automatically archives findings for that IAM user.
Why this is correct
Suppression rules allow you to filter out known false positives based on specific criteria.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
✗
Create a VPC flow log filter to exclude traffic from those IP addresses.
Why it's wrong here
VPC flow logs are separate from GuardDuty and do not suppress findings.
✗
Modify the IAM user's permissions to restrict the IP addresses it can use.
Why it's wrong here
IAM permissions do not affect GuardDuty finding generation.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
Many certification questions include familiar terms but test a specific constraint. Read the exact wording before choosing an answer that is generally true but wrong for this case.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
This question should be treated as a scenario, not a definition check. Identify the problem, the constraint and the best action. Then compare each option against those facts.
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.
Use explanations to understand the rule behind the answer.
TExam Day Tips
→Underline the problem statement mentally.
→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.
What to study next
Got this wrong? Here's your next step.
Identify which SCS-C02 exam domain this question belongs to, then review the specific concept being tested. Practise related questions in that domain and focus on understanding why each wrong answer is tempting — not just why the correct answer is right.
Security Logging and Monitoring — This question tests Security Logging and Monitoring — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Create a GuardDuty suppression rule that automatically archives findings for that IAM user. — GuardDuty supports suppression rules that allow you to automatically archive findings that match certain criteria. You can create a suppression rule based on the finding type and the IAM user's ARN to automatically archive these false positives. Option C is correct because it uses GuardDuty's built-in suppression feature. Option A is wrong because disabling the finding type would suppress all similar findings for all users, which is too broad. Option B is wrong because modifying the IAM user's permissions does not affect GuardDuty findings. Option D is wrong because creating a VPC flow log filter does not suppress GuardDuty findings.
What should I do if I get this SCS-C02 question wrong?
Identify which SCS-C02 exam domain this question belongs to, then review the specific concept being tested. Practise related questions in that domain and focus on understanding why each wrong answer is tempting — not just why the correct answer is right.
What is the key concept behind this question?
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
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Question Discussion
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