This SOA-C02 practice question tests your understanding of monitoring, logging, and remediation. 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 wants to receive a notification when the root account is used to perform any action in the AWS account. Which service should be used to monitor this?
AWS Config
Why wrong: AWS Config tracks configuration changes, not API activity.
Amazon CloudWatch Logs
Why wrong: CloudWatch Logs stores log data but does not capture API calls.
AWS CloudTrail with Amazon CloudWatch Events
CloudTrail records API calls; CloudWatch Events can trigger notifications on specific events.
AWS Trusted Advisor
Why wrong: Trusted Advisor provides recommendations, not real-time monitoring of root usage.
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 with Amazon CloudWatch Events
AWS CloudTrail logs all API activity in the account, including root user actions. By creating a CloudTrail trail and sending those logs to Amazon CloudWatch Events (now part of Amazon EventBridge), you can define a rule that matches the `RootAccess` event or any API call where `userIdentity.type` is `Root` and trigger a notification via SNS or Lambda. This combination provides real-time monitoring and alerting for root account usage.
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 it's wrong here
AWS Config tracks configuration changes, not API activity.
Amazon CloudWatch Logs
Why it's wrong here
CloudWatch Logs stores log data but does not capture API calls.
AWS CloudTrail with Amazon CloudWatch Events
Why this is correct
CloudTrail records API calls; CloudWatch Events can trigger notifications on specific events.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
AWS Trusted Advisor
Why it's wrong here
Trusted Advisor provides recommendations, not real-time monitoring of root usage.
Common exam traps
The trap here is that candidates confuse AWS Config (which audits resource configurations) with CloudTrail (which audits API activity), or they think CloudWatch Logs alone can trigger alerts without CloudWatch Events, missing the requirement for event-driven notification.
Detailed technical explanation
Under the hood, CloudTrail records every API call as a JSON log event containing the `userIdentity` field with `type: Root`. CloudWatch Events (EventBridge) can evaluate these events in near real-time using event patterns; for root monitoring, a common pattern is `{ "source": ["aws.signin"], "detail-type": ["AWS Console Sign In"], "detail": { "userIdentity": { "type": ["Root"] } } }`. This triggers a target like an SNS topic to email the security team. A subtle behavior: root user actions via the AWS CLI or SDK also generate CloudTrail events, so the same pattern can capture those, but the sign-in event is separate from API calls—both should be monitored for full coverage.
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
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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 CloudTrail with Amazon CloudWatch Events — AWS CloudTrail logs all API activity in the account, including root user actions. By creating a CloudTrail trail and sending those logs to Amazon CloudWatch Events (now part of Amazon EventBridge), you can define a rule that matches the `RootAccess` event or any API call where `userIdentity.type` is `Root` and trigger a notification via SNS or Lambda. This combination provides real-time monitoring and alerting for root account usage.
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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