- A
Create an IAM policy that denies Amazon EC2 actions and attach it to all users and roles in non-production accounts.
Why wrong: While this could work, it requires deploying the policy in each account individually and attaching it to all principals, which is not centrally managed. It is also easy to miss new users. SCPs provide a centralized, organization-wide control.
- B
Attach a service control policy (SCP) to the organization root or to the OUs of non-production accounts that denies access to Amazon EC2.
SCPs are a centralized way to set permission boundaries for all accounts in the organization. By denying EC2 actions via SCP on non-production OUs, the restriction is enforced even for the root user of those accounts, and it applies to all IAM principals.
- C
Use AWS Config to create a rule that detects EC2 usage in non-production accounts and automatically terminates instances.
Why wrong: AWS Config can detect and remediate, but it is reactive, not preventive. Resources can still be created before detection, and it does not enforce the restriction across all services consistently.
- D
Create a resource-based policy on each EC2 instance that denies access from non-production accounts.
Why wrong: Resource-based policies can be attached to individual resources like S3 buckets, but not to EC2 instances. Moreover, managing them on a per-resource basis is not scalable or centrally controlled.
SOA-C02 Security and Compliance Practice Question
This SOA-C02 practice question tests your understanding of security and compliance. 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.
A company uses AWS Organizations to manage multiple AWS accounts. The security team wants to restrict access to a specific AWS service (Amazon EC2) in all accounts except for the 'production' account. The SysOps administrator needs to implement this restriction centrally. Which approach should the administrator use?
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
Attach a service control policy (SCP) to the organization root or to the OUs of non-production accounts that denies access to Amazon EC2.
Service control policies (SCPs) are the correct mechanism for centrally restricting permissions across accounts in AWS Organizations. By attaching an SCP that denies EC2 actions to the organization root or to the OUs containing non-production accounts, the security team can enforce this restriction at the account level, overriding any IAM policies within those accounts. This approach ensures that even if a user or role in a non-production account has an IAM policy granting EC2 access, the SCP will block it.
Key principle: Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Create an IAM policy that denies Amazon EC2 actions and attach it to all users and roles in non-production accounts.
Why it's wrong here
While this could work, it requires deploying the policy in each account individually and attaching it to all principals, which is not centrally managed. It is also easy to miss new users. SCPs provide a centralized, organization-wide control.
- ✓
Attach a service control policy (SCP) to the organization root or to the OUs of non-production accounts that denies access to Amazon EC2.
Why this is correct
SCPs are a centralized way to set permission boundaries for all accounts in the organization. By denying EC2 actions via SCP on non-production OUs, the restriction is enforced even for the root user of those accounts, and it applies to all IAM principals.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
- ✗
Use AWS Config to create a rule that detects EC2 usage in non-production accounts and automatically terminates instances.
Why it's wrong here
AWS Config can detect and remediate, but it is reactive, not preventive. Resources can still be created before detection, and it does not enforce the restriction across all services consistently.
- ✗
Create a resource-based policy on each EC2 instance that denies access from non-production accounts.
Why it's wrong here
Resource-based policies can be attached to individual resources like S3 buckets, but not to EC2 instances. Moreover, managing them on a per-resource basis is not scalable or centrally controlled.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is that candidates often confuse IAM policies (which are identity-based and account-specific) with SCPs (which are account-wide and centrally managed), leading them to choose Option A because they think attaching a deny policy to users is sufficient, but they overlook that SCPs provide the only centralized, preventive control across multiple accounts in AWS Organizations.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
SCPs are account permission boundaries that apply to all IAM users, roles, and root users within an account, but they do not affect service-linked roles or AWS services that act on behalf of the account. When an SCP denies an action, it creates an implicit deny that cannot be overridden by any IAM policy, making it a powerful guardrail for enforcing compliance across an organization. In a real-world scenario, an SCP denying EC2 actions would prevent any user in a non-production account from launching instances, even if they have full AdministratorAccess, ensuring the restriction is absolute.
KKey Concepts to Remember
- Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
- Find the constraint that changes the correct option.
- Eliminate answers that are true in general but not in this case.
TExam Day Tips
- Watch for words such as best, first, most likely and least administrative effort.
- Review why wrong options are wrong, not only why the correct option is correct.
Key takeaway
Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Real-world example
How this comes up in practice
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
Got this wrong? Here's your next step.
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
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Security and Compliance — study guide chapter
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FAQ
Questions learners often ask
What does this SOA-C02 question test?
Security and Compliance — This question tests Security and Compliance — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Attach a service control policy (SCP) to the organization root or to the OUs of non-production accounts that denies access to Amazon EC2. — Service control policies (SCPs) are the correct mechanism for centrally restricting permissions across accounts in AWS Organizations. By attaching an SCP that denies EC2 actions to the organization root or to the OUs containing non-production accounts, the security team can enforce this restriction at the account level, overriding any IAM policies within those accounts. This approach ensures that even if a user or role in a non-production account has an IAM policy granting EC2 access, the SCP will block it.
What should I do if I get this SOA-C02 question wrong?
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
What is the key concept behind this question?
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
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Last reviewed: Jun 11, 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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