Quick Answer
The answer is the SCP from the organization denies EC2. This is correct because Service Control Policies (SCPs) in AWS Organizations act as a centralized governance layer that applies a deny effect across all IAM principals in every member account, overriding any account-level allow permissions from IAM policies. When an SCP explicitly denies EC2, it blocks the launch attempt regardless of the developer’s role or user permissions, as the deny is evaluated first in the authorization chain. On the AWS Certified Security Specialty SCS-C02 exam, this tests your understanding of SCP evaluation precedence and the distinction between account-level IAM policies and organization-wide guardrails. A common trap is assuming that a developer with full admin access in a member account can bypass an SCP—they cannot, because SCPs set the maximum permissions boundary. Memory tip: think of SCPs as the “parental controls” of AWS—no matter what permissions you give a child account, the parent’s deny always wins.
This SCS-C02 practice question tests your understanding of identity and access management. 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.
A company uses AWS Organizations with SCPs to restrict services. An administrator creates an SCP that denies access to EC2. A developer in a member account tries to launch an EC2 instance but fails. 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.
The SCP from the organization denies EC2
SCPs apply to all principals in the account.
The root user of the account has denied EC2
Why wrong: Root user is not restricted by SCPs.
The developer's IAM permissions boundary blocks EC2
Why wrong: Permissions boundary is set on the user, not automatically.
The EC2 instance has a resource-based policy denying access
Why wrong: Resource-based policies are on the resource.
Answer choices
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
The SCP from the organization denies EC2
The correct answer is A because Service Control Policies (SCPs) in AWS Organizations act as a centralized governance mechanism that applies a deny effect across all IAM principals in member accounts. When an SCP explicitly denies access to EC2, it overrides any allow permissions at the account level, including those granted by IAM policies. The developer's launch attempt fails because the SCP's deny is evaluated before any account-level permissions, effectively blocking the action regardless of the developer's IAM role or user permissions.
Key principle: Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Answer analysis
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
The SCP from the organization denies EC2
Why this is correct
SCPs apply to all principals in the account.
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 root user of the account has denied EC2
Why it's wrong here
Root user is not restricted by SCPs.
The developer's IAM permissions boundary blocks EC2
Why it's wrong here
Permissions boundary is set on the user, not automatically.
The EC2 instance has a resource-based policy denying access
Why it's wrong here
Resource-based policies are on the resource.
Common exam traps
The trap here is that candidates often assume IAM permissions or permissions boundaries are the primary cause of access failures, overlooking that SCPs apply a blanket deny that overrides all account-level permissions, including those of the root user.
Detailed technical explanation
SCPs are evaluated as part of the AWS authorization process using the explicit deny priority rule: any deny in an SCP overrides any allow from IAM policies, permissions boundaries, or session policies. The evaluation order is: SCP → resource-based policies → IAM permissions boundaries → IAM identity-based policies → session policies, with an explicit deny at any level causing the request to fail. In a real-world scenario, if an organization wants to restrict EC2 usage in a specific member account while allowing it in others, they would attach the deny SCP only to that account's OU, demonstrating how SCPs provide granular control without modifying the account's own IAM policies.
Key takeaway
Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Real-world example
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
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FAQ
Identity and Access Management — This question tests Identity and Access Management — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
The correct answer is: The SCP from the organization denies EC2 — The correct answer is A because Service Control Policies (SCPs) in AWS Organizations act as a centralized governance mechanism that applies a deny effect across all IAM principals in member accounts. When an SCP explicitly denies access to EC2, it overrides any allow permissions at the account level, including those granted by IAM policies. The developer's launch attempt fails because the SCP's deny is evaluated before any account-level permissions, effectively blocking the action regardless of the developer's IAM role or user permissions.
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
Yes — watch for: "most likely". Probability qualifier — the question wants the most probable cause or outcome, not a guaranteed one. Eliminate low-probability options.
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
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Last reviewed: Jun 24, 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.
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