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Management and Security Governance →hardMultiple ChoiceObjective-mapped

SCS-C02 Management and Security Governance Practice Question

This SCS-C02 practice question tests your understanding of management and security governance. 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 to manage 50 accounts. The security team has enabled AWS CloudTrail in the management account with an organization trail that delivers logs to a central S3 bucket. The bucket policy grants necessary permissions to CloudTrail. Recently, the security team noticed that logs from two member accounts stopped appearing in the bucket. Other accounts continue to deliver logs correctly. The CloudTrail status in the management account shows that the trail is logging and deliveries are succeeding. The security team checked the CloudTrail configuration in the affected member accounts and found that they do not have any trails configured. The IAM roles used for CloudTrail in the management account have sufficient permissions. What is the most likely cause of the missing logs?

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.

A
The KMS key used for encryption does not include permissions for the member accounts.
Why wrong: Incorrect: If encryption is used, but the question doesn't mention KMS.
B
The S3 bucket policy does not grant write access to the CloudTrail service for the affected member accounts.
Correct: Bucket policy must allow CloudTrail from all accounts.
C
The CloudTrail service-linked role in the member accounts is missing.
Why wrong: Incorrect: Organization trails do not require service-linked roles in member accounts.
D
An SCP attached to the affected member accounts denies cloudtrail:PutLogEvents.
Why wrong: Incorrect: CloudTrail uses the management account's permissions; SCPs on member accounts don't affect the trail.

Full breakdown with real-world context →

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 S3 bucket policy does not grant write access to the CloudTrail service for the affected member accounts.

The most likely cause is that the S3 bucket policy does not grant write access to the CloudTrail service for the affected member accounts. When an organization trail is created, CloudTrail uses the management account's permissions to deliver logs to the S3 bucket. However, the bucket policy must explicitly allow the CloudTrail service principal from each member account to write logs. If the policy only allows the management account, member accounts' logs will be rejected. Option A is incorrect because the issue is not about KMS key permissions; if SSE-KMS is used, the key policy must also grant decrypt permissions to CloudTrail, but the question does not mention KMS. Option C is incorrect because CloudTrail does not use a service-linked role for organization trails; it uses the CloudTrail service role in the management account. Option D is incorrect because an SCP denying cloudtrail:PutLogEvents would affect all CloudTrail actions, but the logs from other accounts are still arriving, so it is unlikely.

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.

✗
The KMS key used for encryption does not include permissions for the member accounts.
Why it's wrong here
Incorrect: If encryption is used, but the question doesn't mention KMS.
✓
The S3 bucket policy does not grant write access to the CloudTrail service for the affected member accounts.
Why this is correct
Correct: Bucket policy must allow CloudTrail from all accounts.
Clue confirmation
The clue word "most likely" in the question point toward this answer.
Related concept
Standard ACLs match source addresses.
✗
The CloudTrail service-linked role in the member accounts is missing.
Why it's wrong here
Incorrect: Organization trails do not require service-linked roles in member accounts.
✗
An SCP attached to the affected member accounts denies cloudtrail:PutLogEvents.
Why it's wrong here
Incorrect: CloudTrail uses the management account's permissions; SCPs on member accounts don't affect the trail.

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 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.

Quick reference

AWS S3 Storage Class Comparison

Storage Class	Min Duration	Retrieval	Use Case
S3 Standard	None	Immediate	Frequently accessed data
S3 Standard-IA	30 days	Immediate	Infrequent access, rapid retrieval
S3 One Zone-IA	30 days	Immediate	Non-critical infrequent data
S3 Intelligent-Tiering	None	Immediate–hours	Unknown or changing access patterns
S3 Glacier Instant	90 days	Milliseconds	Archive with instant retrieval
S3 Glacier Flexible	90 days	Minutes–hours	Archive, flexible retrieval
S3 Glacier Deep Archive	180 days	Hours	Long-term compliance archive

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.

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FAQ

Questions learners often ask

What does this SCS-C02 question test?

Management and Security Governance — This question tests Management and Security Governance — Standard ACLs match source addresses..

What is the correct answer to this question?

The correct answer is: The S3 bucket policy does not grant write access to the CloudTrail service for the affected member accounts. — The most likely cause is that the S3 bucket policy does not grant write access to the CloudTrail service for the affected member accounts. When an organization trail is created, CloudTrail uses the management account's permissions to deliver logs to the S3 bucket. However, the bucket policy must explicitly allow the CloudTrail service principal from each member account to write logs. If the policy only allows the management account, member accounts' logs will be rejected. Option A is incorrect because the issue is not about KMS key permissions; if SSE-KMS is used, the key policy must also grant decrypt permissions to CloudTrail, but the question does not mention KMS. Option C is incorrect because CloudTrail does not use a service-linked role for organization trails; it uses the CloudTrail service role in the management account. Option D is incorrect because an SCP denying cloudtrail:PutLogEvents would affect all CloudTrail actions, but the logs from other accounts are still arriving, so it is unlikely.

What should I do if I get this SCS-C02 question wrong?

Are there clue words in this question I should notice?

Yes — watch for: "most likely". Probability qualifier — the question wants the most probable cause or outcome, not a guaranteed one. Eliminate low-probability options.

What is the key concept behind this question?

Standard ACLs match source addresses.

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