The answer is AWS CloudTrail and Amazon EventBridge. CloudTrail captures all IAM management events, including the CreateAccessKey API call, and delivers them as structured logs. EventBridge then uses a rule to filter for this specific event pattern and instantly triggers a notification action, such as publishing to an SNS topic or invoking a Lambda function, enabling real-time alerting without any polling or custom code. On the AWS Certified SysOps Administrator Associate SOA-C02 exam, this scenario tests your understanding of event-driven monitoring versus traditional logging—a common trap is to suggest CloudWatch Logs or Config, which are not designed for real-time API call matching. Remember the memory tip: “Trail captures the key, Bridge triggers the alert.”
SOA-C02 Monitoring, Logging, and Remediation Practice Question
This SOA-C02 practice question tests your understanding of monitoring, logging, and remediation. 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.
A company wants to receive a real-time notification whenever an IAM user creates a new access key. Which combination of AWS services should be used to achieve this?
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
AWS CloudTrail and Amazon EventBridge
AWS CloudTrail captures IAM API calls, including CreateAccessKey, as management events. Amazon EventBridge can be configured with a rule that matches this specific API call pattern and triggers a real-time notification (e.g., via SNS or Lambda). This combination provides the exact event-driven monitoring required without polling or custom code.
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.
✗
Amazon GuardDuty and Amazon SQS
Why it's wrong here
GuardDuty detects threats, not API call monitoring.
✓
AWS CloudTrail and Amazon EventBridge
Why this is correct
CloudTrail records API calls; EventBridge filters events and triggers notifications.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
✗
Amazon CloudWatch Logs and AWS Lambda
Why it's wrong here
CloudWatch Logs requires metric filters and is not real-time for API calls.
✗
AWS Config and Amazon SNS
Why it's wrong here
AWS Config tracks resource changes, not API calls.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is that candidates confuse AWS Config (which tracks resource state changes) with CloudTrail (which tracks API calls), leading them to pick Option D, but Config does not provide real-time, event-driven notifications for individual API actions like CreateAccessKey.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
CloudTrail management events are delivered to EventBridge as structured JSON events with fields like eventSource ('iam.amazonaws.com') and eventName ('CreateAccessKey'). EventBridge rules use event pattern matching (e.g., {"source": ["aws.iam"], "detail-type": ["AWS API Call via CloudTrail"], "detail": {"eventName": ["CreateAccessKey"]}}) to trigger targets like SNS or Lambda within seconds of the API call. This approach avoids the polling overhead of CloudWatch Logs subscription filters and the delayed evaluation of AWS Config rules.
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.
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: AWS CloudTrail and Amazon EventBridge — AWS CloudTrail captures IAM API calls, including CreateAccessKey, as management events. Amazon EventBridge can be configured with a rule that matches this specific API call pattern and triggers a real-time notification (e.g., via SNS or Lambda). This combination provides the exact event-driven monitoring required without polling or custom code.
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.
What is the key concept behind this question?
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
About these practice questions
Courseiva creates original exam-style practice questions with explanations and wrong-answer analysis. It does not publish real exam questions, exam dumps, or protected exam content. Learn why practice questions differ from exam dumps →
These questions test the same concept from different angles. Work through them to make sure you can recognise it however the exam phrases it.
Variation 1. A company wants to receive real-time notifications when specific API calls are made in their AWS account. Which TWO services can be used together to achieve this? (Choose TWO.)
medium
✓ A.AWS CloudTrail
B.AWS Config
C.AWS Lambda
D.Amazon CloudWatch Logs
✓ E.Amazon CloudWatch Events
Why A: AWS CloudTrail captures all API calls made in the AWS account and can deliver those events to CloudWatch Logs. Amazon CloudWatch Events (now part of Amazon EventBridge) can then process those log entries in real time using event rules that match specific API calls, triggering a target such as an SNS notification or Lambda function. This combination provides real-time notification without polling or custom code.
Last reviewed: Jun 24, 2026
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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.
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