- A
Reimage the instance from a clean AMI immediately
Why wrong: Reimaging destroys evidence before investigation.
- B
Delete all CloudTrail logs related to the instance
Why wrong: Deleting logs is destructive and against best practices.
- C
Isolate the instance by changing its security group to deny all traffic
Isolation prevents further damage while preserving the instance.
- D
Take a snapshot of the instance's EBS volumes for forensic analysis
Snapshots preserve the state for investigation.
- E
Immediately terminate the instance to stop the attack
Why wrong: Termination destroys evidence.
Question 665 of 1,748
SCS-C02 Threat Detection and Incident Response Practice Question
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.
Which TWO steps should a security engineer take when responding to a confirmed security incident involving a compromised EC2 instance? (Choose 2.)
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
✓
Isolate the instance by changing its security group to deny all traffic
Option C is correct because isolating the compromised EC2 instance by changing its security group to deny all traffic immediately stops the attack in progress and prevents lateral movement to other resources, while preserving the instance for forensic analysis. This aligns with the AWS incident response best practice of containment before eradication, as the instance remains intact for investigation.
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.
- ✗
Reimage the instance from a clean AMI immediately
Why it's wrong here
Reimaging destroys evidence before investigation.
- ✗
Delete all CloudTrail logs related to the instance
Why it's wrong here
Deleting logs is destructive and against best practices.
- ✓
Isolate the instance by changing its security group to deny all traffic
Why this is correct
Isolation prevents further damage while preserving the instance.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
- ✓
Take a snapshot of the instance's EBS volumes for forensic analysis
Why this is correct
Snapshots preserve the state for investigation.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
- ✗
Immediately terminate the instance to stop the attack
Why it's wrong here
Termination destroys evidence.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is that candidates often confuse 'immediate termination' (Option E) with containment, but AWS incident response frameworks emphasize preserving evidence and isolating rather than destroying the instance, as termination eliminates the ability to perform memory forensics and root cause analysis.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
When isolating an EC2 instance, changing the security group to deny all traffic (e.g., using a security group with no inbound or outbound rules) effectively drops all packets at the hypervisor level before they reach the instance, which is more reliable than relying on host-based firewalls that could be disabled by the attacker. The EBS snapshot (Option D) captures the disk state for offline analysis, including deleted files and logs, while the instance's memory can be captured via tools like LiME or Amazon Inspector before isolation if the instance is still running.
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.
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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: Isolate the instance by changing its security group to deny all traffic — Option C is correct because isolating the compromised EC2 instance by changing its security group to deny all traffic immediately stops the attack in progress and prevents lateral movement to other resources, while preserving the instance for forensic analysis. This aligns with the AWS incident response best practice of containment before eradication, as the instance remains intact for investigation.
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
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