- A
Remove the HTTP rule and keep only HTTPS.
Why wrong: HTTP may be needed for redirects or legacy clients.
- B
Change the SSH rule to allow from the VPC CIDR only.
Why wrong: If administrators are not in the VPC, they cannot connect.
- C
Change the SSH rule to allow from a specific IP range used by the company's administrators.
This limits SSH access to authorized users.
- D
Add a rule to allow ICMP from 0.0.0.0/0.
Why wrong: ICMP is not necessary and increases the attack surface.
Question 440 of 1,748
SCS-C02 Infrastructure Security Practice Question
This SCS-C02 practice question tests your understanding of infrastructure security. Read the scenario carefully and evaluate each option against the stated constraints before committing to an answer. 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 is reviewing the security group rules for a web server. The security group currently has the following inbound rules: allow HTTP from 0.0.0.0/0, allow HTTPS from 0.0.0.0/0, and allow SSH from 0.0.0.0/0. Which change should the engineer make to improve security?
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
✓
Change the SSH rule to allow from a specific IP range used by the company's administrators.
Option C is correct because restricting SSH access (TCP port 22) to a specific IP range used by the company's administrators follows the principle of least privilege. The current rule allows SSH from 0.0.0.0/0, which exposes the server to brute-force attacks and unauthorized access from the entire internet. By limiting the source to only trusted administrative IPs, the attack surface is significantly reduced while still allowing necessary remote management.
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.
- ✗
Remove the HTTP rule and keep only HTTPS.
Why it's wrong here
HTTP may be needed for redirects or legacy clients.
- ✗
Change the SSH rule to allow from the VPC CIDR only.
Why it's wrong here
If administrators are not in the VPC, they cannot connect.
- ✓
Change the SSH rule to allow from a specific IP range used by the company's administrators.
Why this is correct
This limits SSH access to authorized users.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
- ✗
Add a rule to allow ICMP from 0.0.0.0/0.
Why it's wrong here
ICMP is not necessary and increases the attack surface.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is that candidates may think restricting SSH to the VPC CIDR (Option B) is sufficient, but the exam expects you to recognize that the VPC CIDR can include many hosts, and the most secure approach is to limit to the specific administrative IP range, not just the internal network.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
Security groups are stateful, meaning that if you allow inbound SSH from a specific IP, the outbound return traffic is automatically allowed regardless of outbound rules. However, the source IP restriction is enforced at the hypervisor level, so even if an attacker spoofs the source IP, the return traffic would not reach them, making the restriction effective. In practice, administrators often use a bastion host or VPN with a fixed IP range to manage SSH access, and the security group rule should reflect that specific CIDR block (e.g., 203.0.113.0/24) rather than a broad VPC CIDR.
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 company's IT admin needs to give a contractor read-only access to production logs without sharing account credentials. Using role-based access control (RBAC) and temporary scoped permissions — not a permanent shared password — is the correct pattern. Questions like this test whether you can apply least-privilege access across cloud identity services.
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.
- →
Infrastructure Security — study guide chapter
Learn the concepts, then practise the questions
- →
Infrastructure Security 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?
Infrastructure Security — This question tests Infrastructure Security — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Change the SSH rule to allow from a specific IP range used by the company's administrators. — Option C is correct because restricting SSH access (TCP port 22) to a specific IP range used by the company's administrators follows the principle of least privilege. The current rule allows SSH from 0.0.0.0/0, which exposes the server to brute-force attacks and unauthorized access from the entire internet. By limiting the source to only trusted administrative IPs, the attack surface is significantly reduced while still allowing necessary remote management.
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.