Quick Answer
The answer is AWS CloudTrail event history. This is correct because CloudTrail captures every API call made by an IAM user, recording the source IP address, user identity, and timestamp for each request. By filtering the CloudTrail event history for the IAM user 'Bob' over the last 30 days, you can directly retrieve the source IPs from which his access keys were used, enabling you to trace unauthorized actions back to their origin. On the AWS Certified SysOps Administrator Associate SOA-C02 exam, this question tests your understanding of CloudTrail’s role in security auditing and incident response—a common trap is confusing CloudTrail with AWS Config or VPC Flow Logs, but only CloudTrail provides per-API-call source IPs tied to IAM users. Remember the memory tip: “CloudTrail trails the IP trail”—if you need to find where an API call came from, always think CloudTrail first.
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 breach. An IAM user 'Bob' is suspected of performing unauthorized actions. The administrator needs to determine the source IP addresses from which Bob's access keys were used in the last 30 days. Which AWS service or feature should be used?
AWS CloudTrail event history.
CloudTrail records API calls with source IP.
VPC Flow Logs.
Why wrong: Flow logs capture network traffic, not API calls.
Amazon CloudWatch Logs.
Why wrong: CloudWatch Logs need to be configured to receive CloudTrail logs.
AWS IAM credential report.
Why wrong: Credential report shows key age and rotation, not 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 event history.
AWS CloudTrail event history provides a record of all API calls made by IAM users, including the source IP address from which the request originated. By filtering the event history for the IAM user 'Bob' and the time range of the last 30 days, the administrator can identify the source IP addresses associated with each API call made using Bob's access keys. This directly meets the requirement to determine the source IP addresses of unauthorized actions.
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 CloudTrail event history.
Why this is correct
CloudTrail records API calls with source IP.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
VPC Flow Logs.
Why it's wrong here
Flow logs capture network traffic, not API calls.
Amazon CloudWatch Logs.
Why it's wrong here
CloudWatch Logs need to be configured to receive CloudTrail logs.
AWS IAM credential report.
Why it's wrong here
Credential report shows key age and rotation, not usage.
Common exam traps
The trap here is that candidates may confuse the IAM credential report (which shows credential metadata) with CloudTrail (which records actual API call details), leading them to choose the credential report for investigating source IPs when it only provides static credential status, not historical usage data.
Trap categories for this question
Command / output trap
Credential report shows key age and rotation, not usage.
Detailed technical explanation
CloudTrail event history stores events for the last 90 days by default, and each event record includes the 'sourceIPAddress' field in the 'userIdentity' section, which can be an IPv4 or IPv6 address. For IAM users, the 'userIdentity' also contains the 'accessKeyId' used, allowing correlation of specific access keys to source IPs. In a real-world scenario, an administrator could use the AWS CLI command 'aws cloudtrail lookup-events --lookup-attributes AttributeKey=Username,AttributeValue=Bob' to retrieve events and parse the source IP addresses.
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.
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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 event history. — AWS CloudTrail event history provides a record of all API calls made by IAM users, including the source IP address from which the request originated. By filtering the event history for the IAM user 'Bob' and the time range of the last 30 days, the administrator can identify the source IP addresses associated with each API call made using Bob's access keys. This directly meets the requirement to determine the source IP addresses of unauthorized actions.
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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