The correct answer is AWS CloudTrail with CloudWatch Events. CloudTrail captures every AWS API call, including the DeleteBucket action on S3, and can stream those events in near real-time to CloudWatch Events (now integrated with Amazon EventBridge). There, a rule matching the specific API call triggers an SNS topic, enabling immediate notification. On the AWS Certified Security Specialty SCS-C02 exam, this scenario tests your understanding of building event-driven security pipelines—a common question pattern where you must distinguish CloudTrail’s role as the API recorder from CloudWatch Events’ role as the router. A frequent trap is choosing S3 Event Notifications alone, which only cover object-level events, not bucket-level API calls like DeleteBucket. Remember: CloudTrail catches the API, CloudWatch Events routes the alert. Memory tip: “Trail logs the call, Events sends the ball.”
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 security engineer wants to receive real-time notifications when an AWS API call is made to delete an S3 bucket. Which service should be used to capture and forward these events to an Amazon SNS topic?
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
AWS CloudTrail with CloudWatch Events
AWS CloudTrail captures all API calls made to S3, including DeleteBucket. By sending these CloudTrail events to Amazon CloudWatch Events (now part of Amazon EventBridge), you can create a rule that matches the specific API call and forwards it to an SNS topic for real-time notification. This combination provides the exact event-driven pipeline needed for immediate alerting on S3 bucket deletions.
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.
✓
AWS CloudTrail with CloudWatch Events
Why this is correct
CloudTrail logs API calls, and CloudWatch Events can filter for DeleteBucket events and trigger an SNS notification.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
✗
AWS Trusted Advisor
Why it's wrong here
Trusted Advisor provides best-practice checks, not real-time API event notifications.
✗
Amazon GuardDuty
Why it's wrong here
GuardDuty detects threats using log analysis, but does not directly forward API calls to SNS.
✗
AWS Config
Why it's wrong here
AWS Config evaluates resource configurations for compliance, but does not provide real-time API call notifications.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is that candidates often confuse AWS Config's ability to detect configuration changes with the need for real-time API call capture, leading them to choose AWS Config instead of CloudTrail with CloudWatch Events.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
Under the hood, CloudTrail delivers log files to an S3 bucket, but for real-time processing you must configure a CloudTrail trail to send events to CloudWatch Logs. CloudWatch Events (EventBridge) then uses event pattern matching—specifically the 'detail-type': 'AWS API Call via CloudTrail' and 'eventName': 'DeleteBucket'—to trigger a target action, such as publishing to an SNS topic. In a real-world scenario, this setup ensures that security teams receive immediate alerts when a bucket is deleted, enabling rapid incident response before data loss impacts operations.
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.
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.
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: AWS CloudTrail with CloudWatch Events — AWS CloudTrail captures all API calls made to S3, including DeleteBucket. By sending these CloudTrail events to Amazon CloudWatch Events (now part of Amazon EventBridge), you can create a rule that matches the specific API call and forwards it to an SNS topic for real-time notification. This combination provides the exact event-driven pipeline needed for immediate alerting on S3 bucket deletions.
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 team wants to receive real-time notifications when an IAM user makes a change to a security group. Which AWS service should be used to trigger the notification?
easy
A.AWS Config
✓ B.AWS CloudTrail with Amazon CloudWatch Events
C.Amazon S3 event notifications
D.Amazon GuardDuty
Why B: Option D is correct because CloudTrail logs the API call, and CloudWatch Events can create a rule that matches the event and sends to SNS. Option A is wrong because Config evaluates resource configurations, not real-time API calls. Option B is wrong because S3 event notifications are for S3 objects. Option C is wrong because GuardDuty is a threat detection service.
Last reviewed: Jun 11, 2026
Question Discussion
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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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