easyMultiple Choice

SSCP Practice Question: Refer to the exhibit

Exhibit

Refer to the exhibit.

```json
{
  "Version": "2012-10-17",
  "Statement": [
    {
      "Effect": "Allow",
      "Principal": "*",
      "Action": "s3:GetObject",
      "Resource": "arn:aws:s3:::company-public/*"
    },
    {
      "Effect": "Deny",
      "Principal": "*",
      "Action": "s3:*",
      "Resource": "arn:aws:s3:::company-private/*"
    }
  ]
}
```

Refer to the exhibit. An AWS S3 bucket policy is defined as shown. Which statement about this policy is TRUE?

⚠ Common exam trap

SSCP often tests whether candidates conflate an explicit Deny on one resource with account-wide denial, or assume Principal '*' means only authenticated AWS users rather than truly anonymous access.

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

✓

Any user can read objects in the company-public bucket

The S3 bucket policy shown in the exhibit includes an Allow statement granting s3:GetObject to Principal '*' on the company-public bucket, which means any user (authenticated or anonymous) can read objects in that bucket. The Deny statement applies only to the company-private bucket, so it does not affect the public bucket. Therefore, the true statement is that any user can read objects in the company-public bucket.

Answer analysis

Option-by-option breakdown

For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.

✗
The company-public bucket objects are completely private
Why it's wrong here
The policy's Allow statement grants access to the company-public bucket, so its objects are not private. It is tempting because a Deny statement exists, but that Deny targets a different bucket or principal, leaving the public bucket's permissions governed by the Allow.
✗
The Deny statement prevents all access to both buckets
Why it's wrong here
A Deny statement applies only to the resources and principals named within that specific policy, so it cannot block access to both buckets unless both are listed. It is tempting because Deny overrides Allow, but scope is bounded by the policy's Resource and Principal elements.
✓
Any user can read objects in the company-public bucket
Why this is correct
The bucket policy grants a wildcard principal read permission on the company-public bucket's objects, so any unauthenticated or authenticated user can retrieve them. This permissive Principal and Action combination satisfies the condition that public read access is allowed, making the statement true.
✗
The policy applies to all buckets in the account
Why it's wrong here
A bucket policy's Resource element names the specific bucket or objects it governs, so this policy cannot reach every bucket in the account. It is tempting because an identity-based IAM policy attached to a principal can span all buckets, which is the scenario where account-wide scope genuinely applies.

Quick reference

AWS S3 Storage Class Comparison

Storage Class	Min Duration	Retrieval	Use Case
S3 Standard	None	Immediate	Frequently accessed data
S3 Standard-IA	30 days	Immediate	Infrequent access, rapid retrieval
S3 One Zone-IA	30 days	Immediate	Non-critical infrequent data
S3 Intelligent-Tiering	None	Immediate–hours	Unknown or changing access patterns
S3 Glacier Instant	90 days	Milliseconds	Archive with instant retrieval
S3 Glacier Flexible	90 days	Minutes–hours	Archive, flexible retrieval
S3 Glacier Deep Archive	180 days	Hours	Long-term compliance archive

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Written and reviewed by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security

Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva

Last reviewed September 2026 · checked against the official ISC2 exam blueprint

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.