Quick Answer
The correct combination is AWS CloudTrail, Amazon CloudWatch Logs, and Amazon EventBridge. This pipeline works because CloudTrail captures every API call made within your AWS account and streams those events to CloudWatch Logs, where you can define metric filters that match suspicious patterns—such as unauthorized access attempts or changes to security group rules. EventBridge then consumes those filtered log events as a rule target, enabling real-time alerts via SNS or automated remediation through Lambda functions. On the SCS-C02 exam, this scenario tests your understanding of building a real-time monitoring of CloudTrail events pipeline without relying on third-party tools; a common trap is choosing CloudTrail alone with S3, which introduces latency and cannot trigger immediate actions. Remember the mnemonic “CLE” for Capture, Log, and Event—CloudTrail captures, CloudWatch Logs filters, and EventBridge executes.
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.
A security analyst needs to detect and alert on suspicious API calls in real time. Which combination of AWS services should be used?
AWS CloudTrail, Amazon CloudWatch Logs, and Amazon EventBridge.
Correct combination for real-time alerting on API calls.
Amazon Inspector and AWS CloudTrail.
Why wrong: Inspector is for security assessments.
Amazon GuardDuty and AWS Lambda.
Why wrong: GuardDuty does not monitor custom API calls.
AWS Config and Amazon SNS.
Why wrong: Config is for configuration changes, not real-time API monitoring.
Answer choices
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
AWS CloudTrail, Amazon CloudWatch Logs, and Amazon EventBridge.
AWS CloudTrail captures API calls and delivers log files to Amazon CloudWatch Logs, where you can define metric filters to detect suspicious patterns. Amazon EventBridge then consumes those filtered log events to trigger real-time alerts or automated remediation actions. This combination provides the end-to-end pipeline needed for real-time detection and alerting on API activity.
Key principle: Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Answer analysis
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
AWS CloudTrail, Amazon CloudWatch Logs, and Amazon EventBridge.
Why this is correct
Correct combination for real-time alerting on API calls.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
Amazon Inspector and AWS CloudTrail.
Why it's wrong here
Inspector is for security assessments.
Amazon GuardDuty and AWS Lambda.
Why it's wrong here
GuardDuty does not monitor custom API calls.
AWS Config and Amazon SNS.
Why it's wrong here
Config is for configuration changes, not real-time API monitoring.
Common exam traps
The trap here is that candidates often assume GuardDuty alone can provide real-time API call alerts, but GuardDuty findings are based on aggregated threat intelligence and behavioral analysis, not real-time per-API-call filtering, whereas CloudTrail plus CloudWatch Logs plus EventBridge gives you precise, real-time control over specific API actions.
Detailed technical explanation
CloudTrail delivers events to CloudWatch Logs via a trail configuration that specifies a log group; you then create a metric filter on that log group to match patterns (e.g., specific error codes or IAM actions) and set an alarm that publishes to an SNS topic. EventBridge can also directly consume CloudTrail events via a default event bus, enabling rule-based routing to targets like Lambda or SNS for sub-second response. This architecture supports real-time detection because CloudTrail delivers events within about 15 minutes of the API call, and CloudWatch Logs metric filters evaluate incoming log events continuously.
Key takeaway
Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Real-world example
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.
What to study next
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FAQ
Threat Detection and Incident Response — This question tests Threat Detection and Incident Response — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
The correct answer is: AWS CloudTrail, Amazon CloudWatch Logs, and Amazon EventBridge. — AWS CloudTrail captures API calls and delivers log files to Amazon CloudWatch Logs, where you can define metric filters to detect suspicious patterns. Amazon EventBridge then consumes those filtered log events to trigger real-time alerts or automated remediation actions. This combination provides the end-to-end pipeline needed for real-time detection and alerting on API activity.
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
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Same concept, more angles
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 company uses AWS CloudTrail to log all API activity. The security team wants to detect when an IAM user creates an access key for another user, which is a potential privilege escalation. Which TWO actions should the team take to set up this detection?
hardWhy B: Option B is correct because a CloudWatch alarm based on a metric filter allows the security team to monitor CloudTrail logs in real time and trigger an alert when a specific API call (CreateAccessKey) is made by an IAM user for another user. The metric filter extracts the event from CloudTrail logs stored in CloudWatch Logs, and the alarm evaluates the metric against a threshold to notify the team of potential privilege escalation.
Variation 2. A security analyst notices an IAM role 'AdminRole' is being assumed from an IP address outside the company's allowed network. The analyst wants to receive real-time alerts when this role is assumed from unauthorized locations. Which combination of services should be used?
hardWhy D: Option D is correct because AWS CloudTrail logs IAM role assumption events (sts:AssumeRole) as CloudTrail events, which can be sent to Amazon CloudWatch Events (now Amazon EventBridge) as a real-time event stream. CloudWatch Events rules can then match specific patterns (e.g., source IP outside allowed ranges) and trigger an Amazon SNS notification to alert the security analyst immediately. This combination provides the real-time alerting required without additional polling or storage.
Variation 3. A security team wants to detect and alert on API calls that create or modify IAM roles in their AWS account. Which AWS service can be used to create a metric filter and alarm for these specific CloudTrail events?
easyWhy C: Amazon CloudWatch Logs can create metric filters on CloudTrail log data to detect specific API calls, such as CreateRole or UpdateAssumeRolePolicy. These metric filters can then trigger CloudWatch alarms for real-time notification. CloudTrail delivers logs to CloudWatch Logs, but the metric filter and alarm capabilities reside in CloudWatch Logs, not in CloudTrail itself.
Variation 4. A security engineer needs to detect and alert on suspicious API calls made from a compromised EC2 instance. The instance is associated with an IAM role that has permissions to call various AWS APIs. Which AWS service should the engineer use to monitor API calls and trigger alerts?
mediumWhy B: AWS CloudTrail records all API calls made by or on behalf of the EC2 instance's IAM role. By sending these logs to Amazon CloudWatch Events (now Amazon EventBridge), you can create rules that match specific API actions (e.g., 'ec2:TerminateInstances') and trigger alerts via SNS, Lambda, or other targets. This combination provides real-time monitoring and alerting for suspicious API activity from a compromised instance.
Last reviewed: Jun 24, 2026
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