Question 441 of 1,748
Security Logging and MonitoringhardMultiple ChoiceObjective-mapped

SCS-C02 Security Logging and Monitoring Practice Question

This SCS-C02 practice question tests your understanding of security logging and monitoring. This is a configuration task: choose the command set that satisfies every stated requirement. Small differences — like 'secret' vs 'password' or 'transport input ssh' vs 'all' — change whether the answer is correct. 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 uses Amazon Route 53 for DNS and wants to log all DNS queries made from its VPC. The logs must be stored in Amazon S3 for compliance purposes. Which solution meets these requirements?

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

Enable Route 53 Resolver query logging and publish to an S3 bucket.

Route 53 Resolver query logging is the native AWS feature designed to capture DNS queries that originate from resources within a VPC. By enabling this feature and specifying an S3 bucket as the destination, you can log all DNS queries made by EC2 instances, Lambda functions, and other VPC resources without needing any additional agents or configuration. This directly meets the requirement for storing DNS query logs in S3 for compliance.

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.

  • Enable Route 53 Resolver query logging and publish to an S3 bucket.

    Why this is correct

    Route 53 Resolver query logging captures DNS queries made by resources in your VPC and can deliver logs to S3.

    Related concept

    Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.

  • Install a CloudWatch Logs agent on each EC2 instance and configure it to send DNS logs to CloudWatch Logs.

    Why it's wrong here

    This would only capture DNS queries from EC2 instances, not from other resources like Lambda or RDS.

  • Enable AWS CloudTrail for DNS API calls and deliver to an S3 bucket.

    Why it's wrong here

    CloudTrail logs API calls to Route 53, not the actual DNS queries.

  • Enable VPC Flow Logs and publish to an S3 bucket.

    Why it's wrong here

    VPC Flow Logs capture network traffic metadata, not DNS query logs.

Common exam traps

Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword

The trap here is confusing data-plane DNS query logs (Route 53 Resolver query logging) with control-plane API logs (CloudTrail) or network flow logs (VPC Flow Logs), leading candidates to select options that log the wrong type of information for the stated requirement.

Detailed technical explanation

How to think about this question

Route 53 Resolver query logging works by publishing logs from the VPC's DNS Resolver (the .2 address) to a destination such as S3, CloudWatch Logs, or Kinesis Data Firehose. The logs include fields like query name, query type (e.g., A, AAAA), response code, and the source IP of the requester. This feature is critical for compliance frameworks like PCI DSS or SOC 2 that require auditing of all DNS resolution activity within a network boundary.

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.

Visual reference

Client Recursive Resolver Root DNS (13 root servers) TLD DNS (.com, .org, …) Authoritative example.com query IP addr answer

Quick reference

AWS S3 Storage Class Comparison

Storage ClassMin DurationRetrievalUse Case
S3 StandardNoneImmediateFrequently accessed data
S3 Standard-IA30 daysImmediateInfrequent access, rapid retrieval
S3 One Zone-IA30 daysImmediateNon-critical infrequent data
S3 Intelligent-TieringNoneImmediate–hoursUnknown or changing access patterns
S3 Glacier Instant90 daysMillisecondsArchive with instant retrieval
S3 Glacier Flexible90 daysMinutes–hoursArchive, flexible retrieval
S3 Glacier Deep Archive180 daysHoursLong-term compliance archive

What to study next

Got this wrong? Here's your next step.

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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: Enable Route 53 Resolver query logging and publish to an S3 bucket. — Route 53 Resolver query logging is the native AWS feature designed to capture DNS queries that originate from resources within a VPC. By enabling this feature and specifying an S3 bucket as the destination, you can log all DNS queries made by EC2 instances, Lambda functions, and other VPC resources without needing any additional agents or configuration. This directly meets the requirement for storing DNS query logs in S3 for compliance.

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.

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Last reviewed: Jul 4, 2026

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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.