← SOA-C02·Amazon Web Services

Question 237 of 1,546

Monitoring, Logging, and Remediation →mediumMultiple ChoiceObjective-mapped

Quick Answer

The correct answer is to enable CloudFront standard logs, stream them to CloudWatch Logs, create a metric filter for 403 status codes grouped by source IP, set a CloudWatch alarm on that metric, and trigger a Lambda function to update the WAF IP set. This solution is optimal because it uses native AWS serverless services to automatically block IPs causing HTTP 403 errors in CloudFront with WAF, eliminating manual intervention while providing real-time detection of malicious bots. On the AWS Certified SysOps Administrator Associate SOA-C02 exam, this scenario tests your understanding of integrating CloudFront logging, CloudWatch metrics, and Lambda with WAF for automated security responses—a common trap is choosing a solution that requires manual log analysis or EC2-based processing, which increases operational overhead. Remember the memory tip: "Log, Filter, Alarm, Lambda" captures the four-step automation pipeline for blocking abusive IPs without lifting a finger.

SOA-C02 Monitoring, Logging, and Remediation Practice Question

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 uses Amazon CloudFront to serve content from a custom origin. A SysOps administrator needs to detect IP addresses that generate a high rate of HTTP 403 (Forbidden) errors, which may indicate malicious bots attempting to access restricted content. The administrator wants to automatically add these IP addresses to a AWS WAF IP set to block them. Which solution meets this requirement 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 1mediummultiple choice

Full question →

A
Configure CloudFront access logs to be delivered to an Amazon S3 bucket, and use Amazon Athena to query logs for IPs with many 403 errors. Then manually add those IPs to a WAF IP set.
Why wrong: Athena is good for analysis but does not provide automatic remediation. This solution requires manual intervention, which is not acceptable for a security requirement that demands immediate blocking.
B
Enable AWS CloudTrail for CloudFront and create a CloudWatch metric filter for 'Forbidden' events. Use a CloudWatch alarm to notify the administrator via email, who then manually updates the WAF IP set.
Why wrong: CloudTrail logs API calls to CloudFront, not the actual HTTP requests to the distribution. It does not log 403 error responses for viewer requests. This approach will not detect the malicious traffic.
C
Use AWS Config to monitor CloudFront distributions and trigger an AWS Lambda function when a high number of 403 errors is detected by evaluating access logs stored in S3.
Why wrong: AWS Config is for resource configuration compliance, not for monitoring real-time request metrics. It cannot evaluate access logs stored in S3 for error rates.
D
Enable CloudFront standard logs and stream them to Amazon CloudWatch Logs. Create a metric filter for 403 status codes, grouped by source IP. Set a CloudWatch alarm on the metric that triggers an AWS Lambda function to update the WAF IP set.
This solution automates detection and remediation. CloudWatch Logs processes the logs in near real-time, the metric filter counts 403 error responses per IP, and the alarm invokes Lambda to block the IP via WAF. This is fully automated and requires minimal operational overhead.

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

✓

Enable CloudFront standard logs and stream them to Amazon CloudWatch Logs. Create a metric filter for 403 status codes, grouped by source IP. Set a CloudWatch alarm on the metric that triggers an AWS Lambda function to update the WAF IP set.

Option D is correct because it provides a fully automated, serverless solution with minimal operational overhead. By streaming CloudFront standard logs to CloudWatch Logs, you can create a metric filter that counts 403 errors grouped by source IP, then use a CloudWatch alarm to trigger a Lambda function that programmatically updates the WAF IP set. This eliminates manual intervention and leverages native AWS integrations.

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.

✗
Configure CloudFront access logs to be delivered to an Amazon S3 bucket, and use Amazon Athena to query logs for IPs with many 403 errors. Then manually add those IPs to a WAF IP set.
Why it's wrong here
Athena is good for analysis but does not provide automatic remediation. This solution requires manual intervention, which is not acceptable for a security requirement that demands immediate blocking.
✗
Enable AWS CloudTrail for CloudFront and create a CloudWatch metric filter for 'Forbidden' events. Use a CloudWatch alarm to notify the administrator via email, who then manually updates the WAF IP set.
Why it's wrong here
CloudTrail logs API calls to CloudFront, not the actual HTTP requests to the distribution. It does not log 403 error responses for viewer requests. This approach will not detect the malicious traffic.
✗
Use AWS Config to monitor CloudFront distributions and trigger an AWS Lambda function when a high number of 403 errors is detected by evaluating access logs stored in S3.
Why it's wrong here
AWS Config is for resource configuration compliance, not for monitoring real-time request metrics. It cannot evaluate access logs stored in S3 for error rates.
✓
Enable CloudFront standard logs and stream them to Amazon CloudWatch Logs. Create a metric filter for 403 status codes, grouped by source IP. Set a CloudWatch alarm on the metric that triggers an AWS Lambda function to update the WAF IP set.
Why this is correct
This solution automates detection and remediation. CloudWatch Logs processes the logs in near real-time, the metric filter counts 403 error responses per IP, and the alarm invokes Lambda to block the IP via WAF. This is fully automated and requires minimal operational overhead.
Clue confirmation
The clue word "least" in the question point toward this answer.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.

Common exam traps

Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword

The trap here is that candidates may confuse CloudTrail (which logs API calls) with CloudFront access logs (which log HTTP requests), leading them to choose Option B, which is technically incorrect for detecting HTTP 403 errors.

Detailed technical explanation

How to think about this question

CloudFront standard logs can be streamed to CloudWatch Logs in real time using a subscription filter, enabling near-instantaneous metric extraction. The metric filter uses a pattern like '[..., 403, ...]' and a dimension on 'source IP' to aggregate error counts per IP. The CloudWatch alarm then invokes a Lambda function via an SNS topic or direct alarm action, which uses the AWS WAF API (UpdateIPSet) to add the offending IPs to the IP set, achieving sub-minute blocking.

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 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

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?

Monitoring, Logging, and Remediation — This question tests Monitoring, Logging, and Remediation — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..

What is the correct answer to this question?

The correct answer is: Enable CloudFront standard logs and stream them to Amazon CloudWatch Logs. Create a metric filter for 403 status codes, grouped by source IP. Set a CloudWatch alarm on the metric that triggers an AWS Lambda function to update the WAF IP set. — Option D is correct because it provides a fully automated, serverless solution with minimal operational overhead. By streaming CloudFront standard logs to CloudWatch Logs, you can create a metric filter that counts 403 errors grouped by source IP, then use a CloudWatch alarm to trigger a Lambda function that programmatically updates the WAF IP set. This eliminates manual intervention and leverages native AWS integrations.

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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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.