CCSP Cloud Security Operations Practice Question
During a forensic investigation of a compromised AWS account, the incident response team needs to determine the exact time an attacker created a new IAM user and what permissions were assigned. Which log source would provide the most reliable evidence?
⚠ Common exam trap
The CCSP exam often tests the distinction between management events (CloudTrail) and data events (S3 access logs, VPC Flow Logs), and the trap here is that candidates confuse network-level logs (VPC Flow Logs) or configuration snapshots (AWS Config) with the API-level audit trail that CloudTrail provides.
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
✓
AWS CloudTrail management events
AWS CloudTrail management events capture all API calls made to the AWS Management Console, SDKs, CLI, and AWS services, including IAM CreateUser and AttachUserPolicy actions. These events record the exact timestamp, source IP, user agent, and the identity of the principal making the call, making them the definitive source for determining when an IAM user was created and what permissions were assigned.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
AWS Config configuration history for the IAM user
Why it's wrong here
Config records the state of resources after changes, not the exact API call details.
- ✗
S3 access logs for the bucket containing IAM policy files
Why it's wrong here
S3 access logs track access to objects, not IAM API calls.
- ✓
AWS CloudTrail management events
Why this is correct
CloudTrail management events capture all IAM API calls with detailed request parameters.
- ✗
VPC Flow Logs for the management console IP
Why it's wrong here
VPC Flow Logs record network flows, not IAM API calls.
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JA
Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
This CCSP practice question is part of Courseiva's free ISC2 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 CCSP exam.