Quick Answer
The answer is AWS Config, as it provides the managed rules s3-bucket-public-read-prohibited and s3-bucket-public-write-prohibited to continuously detect public S3 buckets. AWS Config works by evaluating your S3 bucket policies and ACLs against these desired configurations, flagging any bucket that becomes publicly accessible as noncompliant. This allows SysOps administrators to set up automated remediation or trigger notifications for ongoing monitoring and reporting. On the AWS Certified SysOps Administrator Associate SOA-C02 exam, this question tests your understanding of compliance monitoring versus one-time auditing tools like AWS Trusted Advisor or IAM Access Analyzer, which do not provide continuous evaluation. A common trap is choosing Amazon Macie, which focuses on sensitive data classification rather than public access detection. Memory tip: think of AWS Config as the "continuous compliance cop" that enforces your bucket rules, while other services are just "one-time inspectors."
This SOA-C02 practice question tests your understanding of monitoring, logging, and remediation. This is a configuration task: choose the command set that satisfies every stated requirement. Small differences — like 'secret' vs 'password' or 'transport input ssh' vs 'all' — change whether the answer is correct. 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 has an S3 bucket that stores sensitive data. A SysOps administrator needs to detect when objects in the bucket are publicly accessible. Which AWS service should the administrator use to continuously monitor and report on public access?
AWS Config
AWS Config can continuously evaluate S3 bucket policies against rules for public access.
S3 server access logs
Why wrong: Access logs show who accessed the bucket, not public access configuration.
Amazon GuardDuty
Why wrong: GuardDuty detects malicious activity, not public access configuration.
AWS Trusted Advisor
Why wrong: Trusted Advisor provides periodic checks, not continuous monitoring.
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 Config
AWS Config provides a managed rule called 's3-bucket-public-read-prohibited' and 's3-bucket-public-write-prohibited' that continuously evaluates S3 bucket policies and ACLs against the desired configuration. When a bucket becomes publicly accessible, AWS Config flags it as noncompliant and can trigger automated remediation or notifications. This makes it the correct service for ongoing monitoring and reporting of public access to sensitive data.
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 Config
Why this is correct
AWS Config can continuously evaluate S3 bucket policies against rules for public access.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
S3 server access logs
Why it's wrong here
Access logs show who accessed the bucket, not public access configuration.
Amazon GuardDuty
Why it's wrong here
GuardDuty detects malicious activity, not public access configuration.
AWS Trusted Advisor
Why it's wrong here
Trusted Advisor provides periodic checks, not continuous monitoring.
Common exam traps
The trap here is that candidates often confuse 'detecting public access' with 'auditing access logs' (S3 server access logs) or 'threat detection' (GuardDuty), but the question specifically asks for continuous monitoring and reporting of the bucket's configuration state, which is exactly what AWS Config's managed rules provide.
Trap categories for this question
Command / output trap
Access logs show who accessed the bucket, not public access configuration.
Detailed technical explanation
AWS Config evaluates resource configurations against rules using a configuration recorder that captures changes to S3 bucket policies and ACLs. The 's3-bucket-public-read-prohibited' rule checks for both bucket-level and object-level public access by inspecting the bucket's policy (using the 'Effect': 'Allow' and 'Principal': '*' conditions) and ACL grants (e.g., 'AllUsers' or 'AuthenticatedUsers' permissions). In a real-world scenario, a misconfigured bucket policy that inadvertently grants public read access via a wildcard principal would be detected within minutes by AWS Config, whereas S3 server access logs would only show the resulting anonymous requests after the fact.
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 exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
Monitoring, Logging, and Remediation — study guide chapter
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FAQ
Monitoring, Logging, and Remediation — This question tests Monitoring, Logging, and Remediation — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
The correct answer is: AWS Config — AWS Config provides a managed rule called 's3-bucket-public-read-prohibited' and 's3-bucket-public-write-prohibited' that continuously evaluates S3 bucket policies and ACLs against the desired configuration. When a bucket becomes publicly accessible, AWS Config flags it as noncompliant and can trigger automated remediation or notifications. This makes it the correct service for ongoing monitoring and reporting of public access to sensitive data.
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 SOA-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 SOA-C02 exam.
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