SCS-C03 Practice Tests

AWS Security Specialty

Prepare for the AWS Certified Security Specialty exam with comprehensive practice tests covering all six domains. Get exam-ready with realistic questions, detailed explanations, and AI-powered feedback on detection, incident response, infrastructure security, identity and access management, data protection, and governance.

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Duration

170 minutes

Questions

65 questions (50 scored, 15 unscored)

Cost

$300 USD
Where to register
Amazon Web Services

Issued by Amazon Web Services. Delivered via Pearson VUE or PSI. $300 USD. Schedule online or at a test center. 3-5 years of cloud security experience recommended.

Register on aws.amazon.com
01·Overview

Certification overview

The format, prerequisites, and what to expect on exam day.

Exam details

  • Exam Code

    SCS-C03

  • Duration

    170 minutes

  • Questions

    65 questions (50 scored, 15 unscored)

  • Format

    Multiple choice, multiple response, ordering, and matching

  • Passing Score

    750/1000

  • Cost

    $300 USD

  • Validity

    3 years

  • Languages

    English, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese (Brazil), Simplified Chinese, Spanish (Latin America)

Prerequisites
  • 3-5 years of experience securing cloud solutions
  • Understanding of AWS shared responsibility model
  • Experience with identity management and multi-account governance
  • Knowledge of security incident prevention and response strategies
  • Familiarity with vulnerability management in the cloud
  • Experience with logging and monitoring strategies
02·Domains

Exam domains

Topics on the official blueprint, with their relative weight.

01
Detection
16% of exam
  • Design and implement monitoring and alerting solutions across accounts
  • Configure logging for AWS services and applications
  • Implement log storage with data lakes and third-party integration
  • Analyze logs with CloudWatch Logs Insights, Athena, and Security Hub
  • Troubleshoot monitoring, logging, and alerting misconfigurations
02
Incident Response
14% of exam
  • Design and test incident response plans and runbooks
  • Configure services to be prepared for incidents
  • Implement automated remediation with Systems Manager and Lambda
  • Capture and search logs for security events
  • Conduct root cause analysis and threat eradication
03
Infrastructure Security
18% of exam
  • Design edge security with CloudFront, WAF, and Shield Advanced
  • Implement hardened EC2 AMIs and container images
  • Scan compute resources for vulnerabilities with Inspector
  • Deploy patches and configure secure administrative access
  • Design network segmentation and secure hybrid connectivity
04
Identity and Access Management
20% of exam
  • Design authentication solutions with IAM Identity Center and Cognito
  • Configure temporary credentials with STS and presigned URLs
  • Implement authorization controls and ABAC/RBAC strategies
  • Design IAM policies following least privilege principles
  • Analyze authorization failures with Policy Simulator and Access Analyzer
05
Data Protection
18% of exam
  • Design controls for data in transit with TLS and VPC endpoints
  • Implement encryption at rest with KMS and CloudHSM
  • Design data integrity mechanisms and lifecycle management
  • Manage credentials and secrets with Secrets Manager
  • Create and manage encryption keys and certificates
06
Security Foundations and Governance
14% of exam
  • Deploy and manage AWS accounts with Organizations and Control Tower
  • Implement organization policies and SCPs
  • Use infrastructure as code for consistent deployment
  • Deploy and enforce policies from a central source
  • Evaluate compliance with AWS Config and Audit Manager
03·Key topics

What you actually study

Service families and concept clusters that show up across questions.

Monitoring and Detection

  • GuardDuty, Security Lake, and Security Hub
  • CloudWatch logs and metrics
  • CloudTrail and VPC Flow Logs
  • Amazon Macie for data discovery
  • Anomaly detection and alerting

Access Control

  • IAM policies and permission boundaries
  • Resource-based policies and trust policies
  • Attribute-based and role-based access
  • IAM Roles Anywhere and cross-account access
  • MFA and identity providers

Data Security

  • KMS and AWS CloudHSM key management
  • Encryption at rest and in transit
  • S3 encryption and Object Lock
  • Secrets Manager and credential rotation
  • TLS and certificate management

Network Security

  • Security groups and network ACLs
  • AWS Network Firewall and WAF
  • VPC endpoints and PrivateLink
  • Network segmentation strategies
  • DDoS protection with Shield Advanced

Incident Response

  • Incident response planning and testing
  • Amazon Detective for root cause analysis
  • Forensic data collection and analysis
  • Automated remediation workflows
  • Containment and recovery procedures

Governance and Compliance

  • AWS Organizations and Control Tower
  • Service Control Policies and resource policies
  • Infrastructure as code and CloudFormation
  • AWS Config for compliance monitoring
  • Audit trails and evidence collection
04·Study tips

How to actually pass it

Practical strategies for the weeks before, and the morning of.

Preparation strategy
  • Build a multi-account AWS environment using Organizations and Control Tower to understand central governance
  • Configure monitoring and alerting with GuardDuty, Security Lake, and Security Hub to detect threats
  • Practice creating and managing IAM policies with least privilege for various personas and workloads
  • Set up encryption for multiple services including KMS, S3, and RDS to understand data protection options
  • Design and implement a basic incident response plan with automated remediation using Lambda and Systems Manager
  • Review official AWS security best practices and reference architectures for each domain
  • Take practice exams covering all six domains to identify weak areas before exam day
Exam day
  • Read each question carefully and note whether it is single-select or multiple-select before answering
  • Manage time across 65 questions in 170 minutes; approximately 2.5 minutes per question
  • Answer every question; unanswered questions are scored as incorrect
  • Flag difficult questions and return to them if time permits
  • Pay attention to AWS service features, limitations, and best practices in scenario-based questions
  • Remember the minimum passing score is 750/1000; you do not need perfect answers on every domain
  • Trust your security expertise; the exam tests practical cloud security skills and decision-making

Pass SCS-C03 with confidence.

Practice that follows the official blueprint, weighted by domain across detection, incident response, infrastructure security, identity and access management, data protection, and governance. Start free, no card required.

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