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SSCP A company uses AWS for critical workloads Practice Question
A company uses AWS for critical workloads. An analyst notices unauthorized API calls from an IP address outside the company. The logs show that the attacker used stolen access keys belonging to an IAM user with administrative privileges. The incident response team must contain the breach as quickly as possible. The analyst has access to the AWS Management Console and can use the CLI. The team is following the incident response plan. Which action should be taken FIRST to prevent further unauthorized actions?
⚠ Common exam trap
ISC2 often tests the principle of least disruption during containment — candidates may choose to delete the user or block the IP, but the correct first step is to disable the specific compromised credential to stop the attack without breaking other dependencies.
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
✓
Disable the compromised access keys using the IAM dashboard or CLI.
The immediate priority in an access key compromise is to invalidate the stolen credentials to stop the attacker from making further API calls. Disabling the compromised access keys via the IAM dashboard or CLI (using `aws iam update-access-key --status Inactive`) is the fastest containment action that directly revokes the attacker's authentication token without disrupting other legitimate users or services.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Create a new security group to block the attacker's source IP at the network level.
Why it's wrong here
Incorrect: Blocking an IP is not effective because the attacker can use different IPs; also it does not revoke the keys.
- ✓
Disable the compromised access keys using the IAM dashboard or CLI.
Why this is correct
Correct: This directly stops the attacker's ability to authenticate with those keys.
- ✗
Delete the compromised IAM user immediately.
Why it's wrong here
Incorrect: Deleting the user may affect services or resources attached to that user; disabling keys is less disruptive.
- ✗
Rotate all IAM user access keys across the entire AWS account.
Why it's wrong here
Incorrect: This is broad and time-consuming; it should be done after initial containment.
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JA
Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
This SSCP 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 SSCP exam.