This SCS-C02 practice question tests your understanding of management and security governance. 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 TWO AWS services can be used to centrally manage and enforce security policies across multiple AWS accounts? (Select TWO.)
AWS CloudTrail
Why wrong: Auditing service, not policy enforcement.
AWS Organizations
Enables central management of policies via SCPs.
Amazon GuardDuty
Why wrong: Threat detection, not policy enforcement.
AWS IAM
Why wrong: IAM is per-account, not cross-account.
AWS Config
Can enforce compliance rules across accounts.
Answer choices
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
AWS Organizations
Options B and D are correct. AWS Organizations allows you to centrally manage policies (SCPs) across accounts. AWS Config allows you to create rules that enforce compliance across accounts. Option A is wrong because IAM is per-account. Option C is wrong because AWS CloudTrail is for auditing, not enforcement. Option E is wrong because Amazon GuardDuty is for threat detection.
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.
AWS CloudTrail
Why it's wrong here
Auditing service, not policy enforcement.
AWS Organizations
Why this is correct
Enables central management of policies via SCPs.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
Amazon GuardDuty
Why it's wrong here
Threat detection, not policy enforcement.
AWS IAM
Why it's wrong here
IAM is per-account, not cross-account.
AWS Config
Why this is correct
Can enforce compliance rules across accounts.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
Common exam traps
Many certification questions include familiar terms but test a specific constraint. Read the exact wording before choosing an answer that is generally true but wrong for this case.
Detailed technical explanation
This question should be treated as a scenario, not a definition check. Identify the problem, the constraint and the best action. Then compare each option against those facts.
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
Identify which SCS-C02 exam domain this question belongs to, then review the specific concept being tested. Practise related questions in that domain and focus on understanding why each wrong answer is tempting — not just why the correct answer is right.
Management and Security Governance — study guide chapter
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FAQ
Management and Security Governance — This question tests Management and Security Governance — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
The correct answer is: AWS Organizations — Options B and D are correct. AWS Organizations allows you to centrally manage policies (SCPs) across accounts. AWS Config allows you to create rules that enforce compliance across accounts. Option A is wrong because IAM is per-account. Option C is wrong because AWS CloudTrail is for auditing, not enforcement. Option E is wrong because Amazon GuardDuty is for threat detection.
Identify which SCS-C02 exam domain this question belongs to, then review the specific concept being tested. Practise related questions in that domain and focus on understanding why each wrong answer is tempting — not just why the correct answer is right.
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
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Last reviewed: Jun 20, 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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