Quick Answer
The correct answer is AWS Config and CloudTrail, as these two services work together to monitor and detect unauthorized changes to S3 bucket policies. AWS Config continuously evaluates your S3 bucket policy configurations against desired rules, recording every change as a configuration item and triggering notifications when a policy deviates from compliance. CloudTrail complements this by logging every API call that modifies an S3 bucket policy, such as PutBucketPolicy, capturing the identity, source IP, and timestamp of the requester for forensic analysis. On the AWS Certified Security Specialty SCS-C02 exam, this pairing tests your understanding of detective controls: Config provides state-based monitoring of policy drift, while CloudTrail provides event-based auditing of who made the change and when. A common trap is choosing CloudWatch Logs, which stores logs but does not detect policy changes, or GuardDuty, which focuses on threat detection rather than configuration tracking. Remember the memory tip: “Config catches the drift, CloudTrail catches the shift.”
This SCS-C02 practice question tests your understanding of security logging and monitoring. 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 monitor and detect unauthorized changes to Amazon S3 bucket policies? (Choose two.)
AWS CloudTrail
CloudTrail logs PutBucketPolicy API calls.
Amazon GuardDuty
Why wrong: GuardDuty focuses on threat detection, not policy changes.
Amazon CloudWatch Logs
Why wrong: CloudWatch Logs stores logs but does not detect changes.
AWS Config
Config can monitor S3 bucket policy changes.
Amazon VPC Flow Logs
Why wrong: VPC Flow Logs capture network traffic, not S3 policy changes.
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 CloudTrail
Option A is correct because AWS Config can track changes to S3 bucket policies and trigger notifications. Option B is correct because CloudTrail logs API calls that modify S3 bucket policies. Option C is incorrect because CloudWatch Logs is for storing logs, not detecting changes. Option D is incorrect because VPC Flow Logs do not track S3 policy changes. Option E is incorrect because GuardDuty does not monitor S3 policy changes.
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 this is correct
CloudTrail logs PutBucketPolicy API calls.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
Amazon GuardDuty
Why it's wrong here
GuardDuty focuses on threat detection, not policy changes.
Amazon CloudWatch Logs
Why it's wrong here
CloudWatch Logs stores logs but does not detect changes.
AWS Config
Why this is correct
Config can monitor S3 bucket policy changes.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
Amazon VPC Flow Logs
Why it's wrong here
VPC Flow Logs capture network traffic, not S3 policy changes.
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 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.
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.
Security Logging and Monitoring — study guide chapter
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FAQ
Security Logging and Monitoring — This question tests Security Logging and Monitoring — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
The correct answer is: AWS CloudTrail — Option A is correct because AWS Config can track changes to S3 bucket policies and trigger notifications. Option B is correct because CloudTrail logs API calls that modify S3 bucket policies. Option C is incorrect because CloudWatch Logs is for storing logs, not detecting changes. Option D is incorrect because VPC Flow Logs do not track S3 policy changes. Option E is incorrect because GuardDuty does not monitor S3 policy changes.
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.
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 →
Same concept, more angles
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 needs to monitor for unauthorized changes to its Amazon S3 bucket policies. Which TWO services can be used together to achieve this? (Choose two.)
easyWhy D: AWS Config can track changes to S3 bucket policies and trigger a notification via Amazon SNS. Options A and D are correct. Option B is wrong because CloudTrail logs API calls but does not evaluate configuration changes against a baseline. Option C is wrong because VPC Flow Logs are for network traffic. Option E is wrong because Route 53 is for DNS.
Variation 2. A company wants to monitor for unauthorized changes to its Amazon S3 bucket policies. Which AWS service should be used to detect such changes?
easyWhy A: Option C is correct because AWS Config has managed rules like 's3-bucket-policy-not-more-permissive' that can evaluate bucket policies. Option A is incorrect because CloudTrail logs API calls but does not evaluate policies. Option B is incorrect because GuardDuty detects threats but not policy compliance. Option D is incorrect because CloudWatch Logs Insights can query logs but is not proactive detection.
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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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