The answer is to create a Service Control Policy (SCP) with a condition that denies access if the user is signing in using the AWS Management Console. This is the most effective approach because SCPs operate at the organization, organizational unit, or account level within AWS Organizations, allowing you to centrally restrict permissions across all member accounts without exception. Unlike IAM policies, which are per-account and can be overridden by local administrators, an SCP acts as a guardrail that cannot be bypassed by any IAM user, including the root user (though root user actions are limited by SCPs only if explicitly included). On the AWS Certified Security Specialty SCS-C02 exam, this question tests your understanding of centralized governance versus account-level controls—a common trap is confusing SCPs with IAM password policies or root user restrictions. Remember the key distinction: SCPs enforce boundaries, while IAM policies grant permissions within those boundaries. Memory tip: think of SCP as the "bouncer" at the door of the entire organization, not just one room.
SCS-C02 Identity and Access Management Practice Question
This SCS-C02 practice question tests your understanding of identity and access management. 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 company uses AWS Organizations and wants to restrict all IAM users in all accounts from using the AWS Management Console. What is the most effective way to achieve this?
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Create an SCP with a condition that denies access if the user is signing in using the AWS Management Console.
Option A is correct because an SCP can deny console access for all users across all accounts. Option B is wrong because it only applies to the root user. Option C is wrong because IAM policies are per-account and can be overridden by administrators. Option D is wrong because password policies do not prevent console access if the user has a password.
Key principle: ACLs process entries top to bottom and stop at the first match. Entry order and interface direction matter as much as the permit or deny statement.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
✓
Create an SCP with a condition that denies access if the user is signing in using the AWS Management Console.
Why this is correct
An SCP can use the 'aws:UserAgent' condition to deny console access.
Related concept
Standard ACLs match source addresses.
✗
Set an IAM password policy that requires strong passwords.
Why it's wrong here
Password policies do not prevent console access.
✗
Create a service control policy (SCP) that denies the 'iam:CreateLoginProfile' action and attach it to all accounts.
Why it's wrong here
This would prevent creating login profiles, but existing users with passwords would still have access.
✗
Create an SCP that denies the 'aws:RequestedRegion' condition for us-east-1.
Why it's wrong here
This does not restrict console access.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: ACLs stop at the first match
ACLs are processed top to bottom. The first matching entry wins, and an implicit deny usually exists at the end.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
ACL questions test precision: source, destination, protocol, port and direction. A generally correct ACL can still fail if it is applied on the wrong interface or in the wrong direction.
KKey Concepts to Remember
Standard ACLs match source addresses.
Extended ACLs can match source, destination, protocol and ports.
The first matching ACL entry is used.
There is usually an implicit deny at the end.
TExam Day Tips
→Check inbound versus outbound direction.
→Read the ACL from top to bottom.
→Look for a broader permit or deny above the intended line.
Key takeaway
ACLs process entries top to bottom and stop at the first match. Entry order and interface direction matter as much as the permit or deny statement.
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.
Review ACL processing order, placement rules (standard near destination, extended near source), and inbound vs outbound direction. Study wildcard masks and implicit deny. Then practise related SCS-C02 ACL questions on filtering logic and placement.
Identity and Access Management — This question tests Identity and Access Management — Standard ACLs match source addresses..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Create an SCP with a condition that denies access if the user is signing in using the AWS Management Console. — Option A is correct because an SCP can deny console access for all users across all accounts. Option B is wrong because it only applies to the root user. Option C is wrong because IAM policies are per-account and can be overridden by administrators. Option D is wrong because password policies do not prevent console access if the user has a password.
What should I do if I get this SCS-C02 question wrong?
Review ACL processing order, placement rules (standard near destination, extended near source), and inbound vs outbound direction. Study wildcard masks and implicit deny. Then practise related SCS-C02 ACL questions on filtering logic and placement.
What is the key concept behind this question?
Standard ACLs match source addresses.
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 →
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 Organizations to manage multiple accounts. The security team wants to ensure that no IAM user in any account can create access keys. Which policy type should be used to enforce this restriction across all accounts?
medium
A.IAM identity-based policy
B.Resource-based policy
C.Permissions boundary
✓ D.Service Control Policy (SCP)
Why D: Option B is correct because a Service Control Policy (SCP) can be applied at the organization level to deny actions across all member accounts. Option A is an IAM policy that applies only to specific users. Option C is for permissions boundaries, but it's per-user and not automatically enforced. Option D is for resource-based policies.
Variation 2. A company manages a multi-account AWS environment using AWS Organizations. The security team wants to enforce that all Amazon S3 buckets in the organization are encrypted with AWS KMS customer managed keys (CMKs) and that no unencrypted buckets can be created. They also want to ensure that the encryption settings cannot be changed by account administrators. The team uses AWS CloudTrail to log all S3 API calls and wants to detect any attempts to create unencrypted buckets. The security team creates a service control policy (SCP) that denies s3:PutBucketEncryption and s3:PutBucketPolicy unless the request includes a specific encryption setting. However, they find that a developer in a member account was able to create an unencrypted bucket using the AWS Management Console. The CloudTrail logs show that the bucket was created with the s3:CreateBucket API call without specifying any encryption parameters. What should the security team do to prevent this from happening?
hard
✓ A.Modify the SCP to deny s3:CreateBucket unless the request includes the x-amz-server-side-encryption-aws-kms-key-id header.
B.Enable CloudTrail Insights to detect unusual S3 activity and create a CloudWatch alarm.
C.Attach an IAM permissions boundary to all IAM roles used by developers that denies s3:CreateBucket.
D.Enable S3 Block Public Access at the account level to prevent unencrypted bucket creation.
Why A: D: Correct – The SCP should deny s3:CreateBucket if the request does not include the x-amz-server-side-encryption-aws-kms-key-id header. This prevents creation of unencrypted buckets. A: Incorrect – CloudTrail is already logging; additional logging does not prevent the action. B: Incorrect – IAM permissions boundary does not override SCP; the SCP should already prevent the action, but it was not effective because the SCP did not deny s3:CreateBucket without encryption. C: Incorrect – S3 Block Public Access does not enforce encryption.
Last reviewed: Jun 20, 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.
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