SCS-C02 Threat Detection and Incident Response Practice Question
This SCS-C02 practice question tests your understanding of threat detection and incident response. The scenario asks you to isolate a root cause — eliminate options that address a different problem before choosing. 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.
Refer to the exhibit. A security engineer reviews an S3 bucket policy that is intended to allow the root user of account 123456789012 to get objects only from the 10.0.0.0/24 IP range. However, the policy is not working as expected. What is the MOST likely reason?
Clue words in this question
Noticing these words before you look at the options changes how you read each choice.
Clue: "most likely"
Why it matters: Probability qualifier — the question wants the most probable cause or outcome, not a guaranteed one. Eliminate low-probability options.
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
The condition should use 'aws:VpcSourceIp' instead of 'aws:SourceIp' when requests come through a VPC endpoint.
Option C is correct because when requests to an S3 bucket originate from a VPC endpoint (such as a gateway VPC endpoint for S3), the source IP address is translated to the private IP of the VPC endpoint, and the `aws:SourceIp` condition key cannot be used to evaluate the original client IP. Instead, you must use the `aws:VpcSourceIp` condition key to restrict access based on the IP address of the VPC endpoint. The policy as written would fail to match any requests coming through the VPC endpoint, causing the intended restriction to not work.
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.
✗
The principal is set to root, which cannot be used in bucket policies.
Why it's wrong here
Root user ARN is a valid principal.
✗
The resource ARN is incorrect because it should include the bucket name without /*.
Why it's wrong here
The resource ARN with /* is correct for object-level access.
✓
The condition should use 'aws:VpcSourceIp' instead of 'aws:SourceIp' when requests come through a VPC endpoint.
Why this is correct
If the request is made through a VPC endpoint, the source IP is the endpoint IP, and 'aws:VpcSourceIp' is needed.
Clue confirmation
The clue word "most likely" in the question point toward this answer.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
✗
The condition key 'aws:SourceIp' is not supported for S3 bucket policies.
Why it's wrong here
'aws:SourceIp' is supported for S3 bucket policies for requests coming from public IPs.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is that candidates assume `aws:SourceIp` works universally for all S3 access scenarios, but they overlook the special behavior of VPC endpoints where the source IP is replaced, making `aws:VpcSourceIp` the correct key for IP-based restrictions in that context.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
When a VPC endpoint for S3 is used, the source IP seen by S3 is the private IP of the endpoint's elastic network interface, not the original client IP. The `aws:SourceIp` condition key evaluates the IP address from the TCP connection, which is the endpoint's IP, making it ineffective for client IP filtering. The `aws:VpcSourceIp` condition key is specifically designed to evaluate the original client IP when requests are routed through a VPC endpoint, and it requires the `aws:SourceVpc` or `aws:SourceVpce` condition to be used alongside it for proper enforcement.
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.
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: The condition should use 'aws:VpcSourceIp' instead of 'aws:SourceIp' when requests come through a VPC endpoint. — Option C is correct because when requests to an S3 bucket originate from a VPC endpoint (such as a gateway VPC endpoint for S3), the source IP address is translated to the private IP of the VPC endpoint, and the `aws:SourceIp` condition key cannot be used to evaluate the original client IP. Instead, you must use the `aws:VpcSourceIp` condition key to restrict access based on the IP address of the VPC endpoint. The policy as written would fail to match any requests coming through the VPC endpoint, causing the intended restriction to not work.
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.
Are there clue words in this question I should notice?
Yes — watch for: "most likely". Probability qualifier — the question wants the most probable cause or outcome, not a guaranteed one. Eliminate low-probability options.
What is the key concept behind this question?
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
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Question Discussion
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