SCS-C02 Identity and Access Management Practice Question
Exhibit
Refer to the exhibit.
{
"Version": "2012-10-17",
"Statement": [
{
"Effect": "Allow",
"Action": "ec2:RunInstances",
"Resource": "arn:aws:ec2:us-east-1:123456789012:instance/*",
"Condition": {
"StringEquals": {
"ec2:InstanceType": "t2.micro"
}
}
}
]
}Refer to the exhibit. An IAM policy allows running EC2 instances. A developer tries to launch a t2.micro instance but receives an 'AccessDenied' error. What is the most likely reason?
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
✓
The policy does not grant permissions for other required resources such as images or security groups.
Even though the policy allows the ec2:RunInstances action on the instance resource, the RunInstances API call requires permissions for other resources such as Amazon Machine Images (AMI), security groups, and key pairs. Without explicit permissions for these resources, the API call fails with an AccessDenied error. Option B is incorrect because the condition specifies t2.micro, matching the developer's request. Option C is incorrect because the policy does not restrict by region. Option D is incorrect because there is no explicit deny; the denial is due to missing resource permissions.
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 policy does not grant permissions for other required resources such as images or security groups.
Why this is correct
RunInstances requires permissions on multiple resource types; the policy only grants on instance, not on image, network, etc.
- ✗
The developer is trying to launch a different instance type.
Why it's wrong here
The condition allows t2.micro, so launching t2.micro should be allowed.
- ✗
The region in the policy does not match the developer's region.
Why it's wrong here
The policy specifies us-east-1, and the developer might be in a different region, but that would cause an error about region mismatch, not access denied.
- ✗
The policy has an explicit deny elsewhere.
Why it's wrong here
The exhibit shows only an allow statement; no deny is present.
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Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
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