← SOA-C02·Amazon Web Services

Question 513 of 1,546

Security and Compliance →hardMultiple ChoiceObjective-mapped

SOA-C02 Security and Compliance Practice Question

This SOA-C02 practice question tests your understanding of security and compliance. 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.

An organization requires that all Amazon EC2 instances must be launched only with approved Amazon Machine Images (AMIs) that have been pre-approved by the security team. The SysOps administrator needs to enforce this policy for all current and future instances in the AWS account. Unapproved AMIs should be prevented from launching. Which solution meets these requirements with the least operational overhead?

Clue words in this question

Noticing these words before you look at the options changes how you read each choice.

Clue: "least"
Why it matters: You want the option with minimum overhead, fewest steps, or lowest impact — not the most feature-rich or comprehensive answer.

Question 1hardmultiple choice

Full question →

A
Use AWS Config with the 'approved-amis-by-id' managed rule to evaluate and automatically remediate noncompliant instances.
AWS Config can continuously monitor and automatically remediate instances launched with unapproved AMIs, requiring minimal manual effort.
B
Use an AWS Service Control Policy (SCP) to deny ec2:RunInstances if the AMI ID is not in an approved list.
Why wrong: While SCPs can enforce this, they are configured at the organization level and require AWS Organizations, adding complexity and operational overhead.
C
Create an IAM policy that denies ec2:RunInstances for any AMI not on an approved list and attach it to all IAM users and roles.
Why wrong: This requires managing policy attachments for every principal, increasing operational overhead and risk of missing some principals.
D
Use AWS Systems Manager Patch Manager to approve AMIs and configure the fleet to use only approved images.
Why wrong: Patch Manager is for patching existing instances, not for controlling which AMIs can be used to launch new instances.

Full breakdown with real-world context →

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

✓

Use AWS Config with the 'approved-amis-by-id' managed rule to evaluate and automatically remediate noncompliant instances.

AWS Config with the 'approved-amis-by-id' managed rule continuously evaluates EC2 instances against a list of approved AMI IDs. When a noncompliant instance is detected, you can configure automatic remediation (e.g., using AWS Systems Manager Automation to stop or terminate the instance). This approach enforces the policy for both existing and future instances with minimal operational overhead, as it requires no custom code or manual policy updates.

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.

✓
Use AWS Config with the 'approved-amis-by-id' managed rule to evaluate and automatically remediate noncompliant instances.
Why this is correct
AWS Config can continuously monitor and automatically remediate instances launched with unapproved AMIs, requiring minimal manual effort.
Clue confirmation
The clue word "least" in the question point toward this answer.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
✗
Use an AWS Service Control Policy (SCP) to deny ec2:RunInstances if the AMI ID is not in an approved list.
Why it's wrong here
While SCPs can enforce this, they are configured at the organization level and require AWS Organizations, adding complexity and operational overhead.
✗
Create an IAM policy that denies ec2:RunInstances for any AMI not on an approved list and attach it to all IAM users and roles.
Why it's wrong here
This requires managing policy attachments for every principal, increasing operational overhead and risk of missing some principals.
✗
Use AWS Systems Manager Patch Manager to approve AMIs and configure the fleet to use only approved images.
Why it's wrong here
Patch Manager is for patching existing instances, not for controlling which AMIs can be used to launch new instances.

Common exam traps

Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword

The trap here is that candidates often choose an IAM policy or SCP because they think preventing the launch is more effective than detecting and remediating, but AWS Config with automatic remediation provides a simpler, fully managed solution that requires no custom policy maintenance and works across all current and future instances without manual updates.

Detailed technical explanation

How to think about this question

The 'approved-amis-by-id' AWS Config managed rule uses a parameter list of AMI IDs and evaluates the 'imageId' attribute of each EC2 instance. Under the hood, AWS Config records configuration changes and triggers the rule evaluation asynchronously; remediation actions are executed via Systems Manager Automation documents, which can terminate or stop noncompliant instances. A subtle behavior is that the rule only evaluates instances after they are launched, so to prevent launches entirely, you must combine it with a service control policy or IAM policy that denies RunInstances for unapproved AMIs—but the question asks for least operational overhead, and Config with remediation is simpler than maintaining SCPs or IAM policies across multiple accounts.

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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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: Use AWS Config with the 'approved-amis-by-id' managed rule to evaluate and automatically remediate noncompliant instances. — AWS Config with the 'approved-amis-by-id' managed rule continuously evaluates EC2 instances against a list of approved AMI IDs. When a noncompliant instance is detected, you can configure automatic remediation (e.g., using AWS Systems Manager Automation to stop or terminate the instance). This approach enforces the policy for both existing and future instances with minimal operational overhead, as it requires no custom code or manual policy updates.

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.

Are there clue words in this question I should notice?

Yes — watch for: "least". You want the option with minimum overhead, fewest steps, or lowest impact — not the most feature-rich or comprehensive answer.

What is the key concept behind this question?

Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.

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