SOA-C02 Security and Compliance Practice Question
Which THREE security best practices should be followed when managing IAM users? (Choose three.)
⚠ Common exam trap
Watch out — candidates often think attaching policies directly to users is acceptable for simplicity, but AWS explicitly recommends using groups for scalable permission management, and the exam tests this distinction.
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
✓
Rotate access keys regularly
Rotating access keys regularly limits the window of exposure if a key is compromised. AWS recommends rotating IAM user access keys every 90 days as a security best practice, and this can be enforced using an IAM policy that checks the key's creation date via the `aws:CurrentTime` condition key.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Attach policies directly to users
Why it's wrong here
Attaching policies directly to individual users violates the principle of least privilege by creating unmanageable, non-standardised permissions that are difficult to audit and revoke at scale. The correct approach is to assign policies to IAM groups or roles, enabling centralised permission management. This option is tempting because direct attachment works for a handful of test users in a development sandbox where group overhead is unnecessary.
- ✓
Rotate access keys regularly
Why this is correct
Rotating access keys regularly limits the exposure window of compromised credentials. If a key or secret is leaked through a repository, log, or third-party integration, rotation invalidates the stolen key and forces the attacker to re-authenticate. AWS recommends rotation every 90 days or less, and you can create up to two access keys per user to enable seamless rotation without downtime.
- ✗
Use the root user for daily administration
Why it's wrong here
The root user has unrestricted access to all services and resources, and its permissions cannot be limited by IAM policies. Using root for daily administration significantly increases the risk of irreversible configuration changes or data loss from a single mistake or compromised session. Root credentials should be used only for account-level tasks that require them, such as changing support plans or closing an account, and must be protected with MFA and strong password rules.
- ✓
Grant least privilege permissions
Why this is correct
Granting least privilege means scoping IAM policies to only the actions, resources, and conditions required for a specific job function. This minimizes the potential damage if credentials are compromised, because an attacker cannot easily escalate privileges or access sensitive data outside the intended boundaries. It also improves auditability by making permission boundaries explicit and reduces unintended resource exposure.
- ✓
Enable MFA for all users
Why this is correct
Requiring MFA adds a second authentication factor beyond a password or access key, making it significantly harder for an attacker to use stolen credentials. MFA should be enabled for the root user and all IAM users, and administrators can enforce it for API calls by attaching a policy that denies access when aws:MultiFactorAuthPresent is false. This protects against credential theft, phishing, and brute-force attempts, giving you an additional layer of security beyond password complexity.
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JA
Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
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.