- A
Amazon Kinesis Data Analytics
Why wrong: CloudWatch Logs cannot directly stream to Kinesis Data Analytics; it would need a Kinesis stream.
- B
Amazon OpenSearch Service
CloudWatch Logs can stream logs to OpenSearch Service for analysis and visualization.
- C
AWS Lambda
CloudWatch Logs subscription filters can invoke a Lambda function for real-time processing.
- D
AWS Glue
Why wrong: Glue is a batch ETL service, not suitable for real-time log analysis.
- E
Amazon Athena
Why wrong: Athena is for querying data in S3, not real-time streaming from CloudWatch Logs.
Question 160 of 1,748
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 CloudWatch Logs to collect application logs. The security team wants to detect patterns that indicate security threats, such as multiple failed login attempts. Which TWO services can be used together to perform real-time log analysis and alerting?
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
✓
Amazon OpenSearch Service
Amazon OpenSearch Service (option B) is correct because it provides a powerful search and analytics engine that can ingest CloudWatch Logs in real time via a subscription filter or a Lambda function, enabling the security team to query for patterns like multiple failed login attempts using OpenSearch Dashboards. AWS Lambda (option C) is correct because it can be triggered by CloudWatch Logs subscription filters to process log events in real time, perform custom pattern detection (e.g., counting failed logins per source IP), and then send alerts via Amazon SNS or other services. Together, they form a serverless, real-time log analysis and alerting pipeline.
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.
- ✗
Amazon Kinesis Data Analytics
Why it's wrong here
CloudWatch Logs cannot directly stream to Kinesis Data Analytics; it would need a Kinesis stream.
- ✓
Amazon OpenSearch Service
Why this is correct
CloudWatch Logs can stream logs to OpenSearch Service for analysis and visualization.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
- ✓
AWS Lambda
Why this is correct
CloudWatch Logs subscription filters can invoke a Lambda function for real-time processing.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
- ✗
AWS Glue
Why it's wrong here
Glue is a batch ETL service, not suitable for real-time log analysis.
- ✗
Amazon Athena
Why it's wrong here
Athena is for querying data in S3, not real-time streaming from CloudWatch Logs.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is that candidates often choose Amazon Kinesis Data Analytics (option A) thinking it is the only real-time streaming service, but they overlook that OpenSearch Service with Lambda provides a more integrated and searchable solution for log analysis and alerting without needing to build custom streaming logic.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
Under the hood, CloudWatch Logs can stream log events to Amazon OpenSearch Service via a Lambda function that uses the AWS SDK to index each log entry, allowing near-real-time search with OpenSearch's inverted index and aggregation capabilities (e.g., a `date_histogram` with a `significant_terms` aggregation to detect spikes in failed logins). For Lambda-based analysis, a subscription filter delivers log events in batches (up to 1 MB or 10,000 events) to the function, which can parse structured logs (e.g., JSON or Apache Common Log Format) and use a sliding window counter in memory or DynamoDB to track failed attempts per IP, triggering an SNS alert when a threshold (e.g., 5 failures in 5 minutes) is exceeded. A real-world scenario is detecting a brute-force attack on an SSH server: CloudWatch Logs captures `/var/log/secure` entries, the Lambda function counts 'Failed password' events per source IP, and OpenSearch Dashboards visualizes the attack timeline.
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 cloud solutions architect for a retail company is evaluating services for a new workload. The correct answer here reflects best practice for the specific scenario described — not a general cloud recommendation. Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option. Cloud exam questions reward reading the constraint carefully: the same technology can be right or wrong depending on the use case.
Quick reference
Cloud Service Model Comparison
| Model | You Manage | Provider Manages | Examples |
|---|---|---|---|
| IaaS | OS, runtime, apps, data | Hardware, hypervisor, networking | EC2, Azure VMs, GCP Compute Engine |
| PaaS | Apps and data | OS, runtime, middleware, hardware | Elastic Beanstalk, Azure App Service |
| SaaS | Data and settings only | Everything else | Microsoft 365, Salesforce, Workday |
| FaaS / Serverless | Function code only | Infra, scaling, runtime | Lambda, Azure Functions, Cloud Run |
| CaaS | Containers and apps | Kubernetes, OS, hardware | EKS, AKS, GKE |
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 — study guide chapter
Learn the concepts, then practise the questions
- →
Security Logging and Monitoring practice questions
Targeted practice on this topic area only
- →
All SCS-C02 questions
1,748 questions across all exam domains
- →
AWS Certified Security Specialty SCS-C02 study guide
Full concept coverage aligned to exam objectives
- →
SCS-C02 practice test guide
How to use practice tests most effectively before exam day
Related practice questions
Related SCS-C02 practice-question pages
Use these pages to review the topic behind this question. This is how one missed question becomes focused revision.
Threat Detection and Incident Response practice questions
Practise SCS-C02 questions linked to Threat Detection and Incident Response.
Security Logging and Monitoring practice questions
Practise SCS-C02 questions linked to Security Logging and Monitoring.
Identity and Access Management practice questions
Practise SCS-C02 questions linked to Identity and Access Management.
Management and Security Governance practice questions
Practise SCS-C02 questions linked to Management and Security Governance.
Infrastructure Security practice questions
Practise SCS-C02 questions linked to Infrastructure Security.
Data Protection practice questions
Practise SCS-C02 questions linked to Data Protection.
SCS-C02 fundamentals practice questions
Practise SCS-C02 questions linked to SCS-C02 fundamentals.
SCS-C02 scenario practice questions
Practise SCS-C02 questions linked to SCS-C02 scenario.
SCS-C02 troubleshooting practice questions
Practise SCS-C02 questions linked to SCS-C02 troubleshooting.
Practice this exam
Start a free SCS-C02 practice session
Short sessions build daily habit. Longer sessions build exam-day stamina. Try a timed session to simulate real conditions.
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: Amazon OpenSearch Service — Amazon OpenSearch Service (option B) is correct because it provides a powerful search and analytics engine that can ingest CloudWatch Logs in real time via a subscription filter or a Lambda function, enabling the security team to query for patterns like multiple failed login attempts using OpenSearch Dashboards. AWS Lambda (option C) is correct because it can be triggered by CloudWatch Logs subscription filters to process log events in real time, perform custom pattern detection (e.g., counting failed logins per source IP), and then send alerts via Amazon SNS or other services. Together, they form a serverless, real-time log analysis and alerting pipeline.
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 →
Keep practising
More SCS-C02 practice questions
- A company uses AWS Organizations with multiple accounts. The security team wants to enforce that all Amazon S3 buckets a…
- A company is designing a multi-tier web application on AWS. The web tier must be accessible from the internet, but the a…
- A company is migrating a legacy application to AWS. The application requires two-way communication between the web serve…
- A security engineer is troubleshooting connectivity issues between an Amazon EC2 instance in a VPC and an on-premises se…
- A security engineer is reviewing the SQS queue policy shown in the exhibit. The queue is subscribed to an SNS topic in t…
- A company uses AWS Organizations with multiple accounts. The security team wants to ensure that all IAM users in the pro…
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.
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.