Quick Answer
The answer is Amazon GuardDuty, AWS CloudTrail, and Amazon EventBridge. GuardDuty is the core threat detection service that uses machine learning and anomaly detection to analyze CloudTrail management events, VPC Flow Logs, and DNS logs for suspicious API activity across an entire AWS organization, while CloudTrail provides the detailed API call history that GuardDuty ingests, and EventBridge enables automated alerting and response workflows. On the AWS Certified Security Specialty SCS-C02 exam, this question tests your understanding of how detective controls integrate at the organizational level, with a common trap being to select AWS Config or AWS Security Hub instead—Security Hub aggregates findings but does not perform the initial detection itself. Remember the detection pipeline: CloudTrail logs the API calls, GuardDuty analyzes them for anomalies, and EventBridge delivers the alerts. A useful mnemonic is "CGE" for CloudTrail, GuardDuty, EventBridge—think "Catch, Guard, Escalate."
This SCS-C02 practice question tests your understanding of threat detection and incident response. 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.
Which THREE services can be used to detect and alert on suspicious API activity across an AWS organization? (Choose three.)
Amazon Inspector
Why wrong: Inspector scans for software vulnerabilities.
Amazon GuardDuty
GuardDuty analyzes CloudTrail events for malicious activity.
AWS Config
Why wrong: Config tracks resource configurations, not API activity.
AWS Security Hub
Security Hub aggregates and correlates findings from multiple sources.
AWS CloudTrail
CloudTrail records all API calls for auditing.
Answer choices
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
Amazon GuardDuty
Amazon GuardDuty is a threat detection service that continuously monitors for malicious or unauthorized behavior, including suspicious API activity. It uses machine learning, anomaly detection, and integrated threat intelligence to analyze AWS CloudTrail management events, VPC Flow Logs, and DNS logs across an AWS organization, and can trigger alerts via Amazon EventBridge or Security Hub.
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.
Amazon Inspector
Why it's wrong here
Inspector scans for software vulnerabilities.
Amazon GuardDuty
Why this is correct
GuardDuty analyzes CloudTrail events for malicious activity.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
AWS Config
Why it's wrong here
Config tracks resource configurations, not API activity.
AWS Security Hub
Why this is correct
Security Hub aggregates and correlates findings from multiple sources.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
AWS CloudTrail
Why this is correct
CloudTrail records all API calls for auditing.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
Common exam traps
The trap here is that candidates often confuse AWS Config's compliance monitoring (e.g., checking if CloudTrail is enabled) with actual threat detection, but Config does not analyze API calls for suspicious patterns—it only checks configuration state against rules.
Detailed technical explanation
Under the hood, GuardDuty consumes CloudTrail management events (e.g., CreateUser, AssumeRole) and analyzes them against known threat actor patterns and baseline behavior. For example, a sudden spike in failed AssumeRole calls from an unusual source IP can trigger a finding. GuardDuty findings are automatically sent to AWS Security Hub, which aggregates and prioritizes them across multiple accounts in an organization, enabling centralized alerting and response.
Key takeaway
Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Real-world example
A healthcare organisation deploys an application with a public-facing web tier and a private database tier. The database subnet has no public IP and only accepts connections from the web tier's security group. Questions like this test whether you can design cloud network isolation using VNets/VPCs, subnets, and security group rules.
What to study next
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FAQ
Threat Detection and Incident Response — This question tests Threat Detection and Incident Response — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
The correct answer is: Amazon GuardDuty — Amazon GuardDuty is a threat detection service that continuously monitors for malicious or unauthorized behavior, including suspicious API activity. It uses machine learning, anomaly detection, and integrated threat intelligence to analyze AWS CloudTrail management events, VPC Flow Logs, and DNS logs across an AWS organization, and can trigger alerts via Amazon EventBridge or Security Hub.
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
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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