Quick Answer
The answer is VPC Flow Logs, as this AWS feature captures metadata about IP traffic to and from Elastic Network Interfaces, including the source IP, destination IP, port, protocol, and timestamps. This metadata allows a SysOps administrator to identify exactly which source IPs accessed an EC2 instance prior to an attack, because VPC Flow Logs record both accepted and rejected traffic at the network interface level, providing a complete audit trail. On the AWS Certified SysOps Administrator Associate SOA-C02 exam, this scenario tests your understanding of network monitoring and security investigation tools—a common trap is confusing VPC Flow Logs with AWS CloudTrail, which logs API calls rather than network traffic. Remember that VPC Flow Logs are for network-level metadata, not application-level data, and they must be enabled per VPC, subnet, or network interface. A helpful memory tip: “Flow logs track the flow of packets, not the clicks of API actions.”
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 SysOps administrator is investigating a security incident where an EC2 instance was used to launch an attack. The administrator needs to determine the source IP addresses that were used to access the instance prior to the attack. Which AWS service and feature should be used to capture this information?
Amazon GuardDuty
Why wrong: GuardDuty generates findings but does not store raw flow data.
AWS CloudTrail with data events enabled for EC2
Why wrong: CloudTrail data events can capture S3 object-level operations, not network traffic.
VPC Flow Logs
Flow Logs capture network traffic metadata, including source IPs.
AWS Config with recording of security groups
Why wrong: Config records security group rules, not traffic.
Answer choices
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
VPC Flow Logs
VPC Flow Logs capture metadata about IP traffic flowing to and from network interfaces in a VPC, including the source IP address, destination IP address, port, protocol, and timestamps. This allows the administrator to identify the source IP addresses that accessed the EC2 instance prior to the attack, as the logs record all accepted and rejected traffic at the network interface level.
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.
Amazon GuardDuty
Why it's wrong here
GuardDuty generates findings but does not store raw flow data.
AWS CloudTrail with data events enabled for EC2
Why it's wrong here
CloudTrail data events can capture S3 object-level operations, not network traffic.
VPC Flow Logs
Why this is correct
Flow Logs capture network traffic metadata, including source IPs.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
AWS Config with recording of security groups
Why it's wrong here
Config records security group rules, not traffic.
Common exam traps
The trap here is that candidates confuse AWS CloudTrail (which logs API calls) with network traffic logging, mistakenly thinking CloudTrail captures IP-level traffic data, when in fact only VPC Flow Logs record the actual source IP addresses of network connections to an EC2 instance.
Detailed technical explanation
VPC Flow Logs capture traffic metadata at the network interface (ENI) level, using the 'eni-xxx' identifier, and can be published to Amazon CloudWatch Logs or Amazon S3. The logs include fields like srcaddr, dstaddr, srcport, dstport, protocol, action (ACCEPT/REJECT), and start/end timestamps, enabling precise reconstruction of connection attempts. A subtle behavior is that flow logs are aggregated over a capture window (typically 10 minutes) and do not capture individual packet payloads, so they are ideal for source IP identification but not for deep packet inspection.
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 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: VPC Flow Logs — VPC Flow Logs capture metadata about IP traffic flowing to and from network interfaces in a VPC, including the source IP address, destination IP address, port, protocol, and timestamps. This allows the administrator to identify the source IP addresses that accessed the EC2 instance prior to the attack, as the logs record all accepted and rejected traffic at the network interface level.
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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