Question

Difficulty: EasySecurity Logging, Monitoring, and Auditing

A gaming startup is launching a new multiplayer game on AWS. To ensure security compliance and operational stability, the startup needs to accomplish two tasks: first, they must log and audit all administrative API operations and user activity within their AWS account; second, they must monitor system performance metrics (such as CPU utilization of their virtual servers) and receive alerts if performance drops. Which TWO AWS services should the startup implement to meet these requirements? (Select TWO)

  1. AWS CloudTrail to log and track API activities and user actions across the AWS account.Answer
  2. Amazon CloudWatch to collect performance metrics, monitor logs, and trigger automated alerts.Answer
  3. C
    Amazon Inspector to capture and record the history of API requests made by user accounts.
  4. D
    AWS Identity and Access Management (IAM) to manage operating system patches and network routing logs.

Answer

The startup should use AWS CloudTrail to log and track API activities, and Amazon CloudWatch to collect performance metrics and trigger alerts.
AWS CloudTrail records and tracks user actions and API calls made within the AWS account, which is crucial for compliance and security auditing. Amazon CloudWatch collects and tracks metrics, monitors log files, and sets alarms, which is essential for performance monitoring and operational alerts.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Identify the service needed to log and audit administrative API operations and user activity.
AWS CloudTrail is selected because it acts as a flight recorder for AWS accounts, capturing all API activity and changes.
This directly fulfills the first requirement of auditing account activity.
2
Identify the service needed to monitor system performance metrics and trigger alerts.
Amazon CloudWatch is selected because it gathers operational data, logs, and metrics (like CPU usage) and can trigger alarms.
This directly fulfills the second requirement of performance monitoring and alerting.

Key Concept

Monitoring, logging, and auditing are split between auditing user activity (AWS CloudTrail) and monitoring system/resource performance (Amazon CloudWatch).
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