- A
Stream logs to CloudWatch Logs for real-time monitoring.
Why wrong: This is good for monitoring but not for immutability.
- B
Create an AWS CloudTrail organization trail that logs to a central S3 bucket.
Organization trails log all accounts in the organization.
- C
Enable S3 Object Lock in Compliance mode on the central bucket.
Compliance mode prevents deletion of logs.
- D
Enable VPC Flow Logs in all accounts and send to the central bucket.
Why wrong: Flow Logs capture network traffic, not API activity.
- E
Grant the central bucket policy to allow only the CloudTrail service to write logs.
Restricts write access to CloudTrail only.
Question 1,310 of 1,748
How to Achieve Immutable Centralized Logging in Multi-Account AWS
This SCS-C02 practice question tests your understanding of security logging and monitoring. 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 security engineer is designing a logging strategy for a multi-account environment. The engineer needs to ensure that all API activity across accounts is logged and that logs are immutable and centrally accessible. Which THREE actions should the engineer take?
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
✓
Create an AWS CloudTrail organization trail that logs to a central S3 bucket.
Option B is correct because AWS CloudTrail organization trails automatically aggregate API activity from all member accounts in an AWS Organizations setup, delivering log files to a single, centrally managed S3 bucket. This eliminates the need to configure individual trails per account, ensuring comprehensive and centralized logging of all API calls across the multi-account environment.
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.
- ✗
Stream logs to CloudWatch Logs for real-time monitoring.
Why it's wrong here
This is good for monitoring but not for immutability.
- ✓
Create an AWS CloudTrail organization trail that logs to a central S3 bucket.
Why this is correct
Organization trails log all accounts in the organization.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
- ✓
Enable S3 Object Lock in Compliance mode on the central bucket.
Why this is correct
Compliance mode prevents deletion of logs.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
- ✗
Enable VPC Flow Logs in all accounts and send to the central bucket.
Why it's wrong here
Flow Logs capture network traffic, not API activity.
- ✓
Grant the central bucket policy to allow only the CloudTrail service to write logs.
Why this is correct
Restricts write access to CloudTrail only.
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 VPC Flow Logs (network-level) with CloudTrail (API-level) logging, or they assume CloudWatch Logs alone provides immutability, when in fact only S3 Object Lock in Compliance mode guarantees write-once-read-many (WORM) protection for audit logs.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
Under the hood, an organization trail in CloudTrail uses a single S3 bucket with a bucket policy that grants the CloudTrail service principal (cloudtrail.amazonaws.com) write access, and it automatically replicates log files from all accounts in the organization. S3 Object Lock in Compliance mode prevents any user, including the root user, from deleting or overwriting objects for the specified retention period, meeting immutability requirements. The bucket policy must explicitly restrict write access to only the CloudTrail service to prevent unauthorized log tampering.
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.
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
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Security Logging and Monitoring — study guide chapter
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FAQ
Questions learners often ask
What does this SCS-C02 question test?
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 an AWS CloudTrail organization trail that logs to a central S3 bucket. — Option B is correct because AWS CloudTrail organization trails automatically aggregate API activity from all member accounts in an AWS Organizations setup, delivering log files to a single, centrally managed S3 bucket. This eliminates the need to configure individual trails per account, ensuring comprehensive and centralized logging of all API calls across the multi-account environment.
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.
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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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