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AWS SCS-C03 Study Guide

AWS Certified Security Specialty SCS-C03

The AWS Certified Security Specialty (SCS-C03) is a specialty exam for security work on AWS. It covers detection, incident response, infrastructure security, identity and access management, data protection, and security governance. It suits people who already work with AWS security.

  • Exam code SCS-C03
  • Specialty level
  • 6 exam domains

This guide is free, with no sign-up. It explains every AWS SCS-C03 exam topic in plain English, one chapter at a time. Read them in order or jump straight to the topic you need.

  • 6chapters
  • 38topics
  • 14diagrams and exhibits
  • 3 h 27 minfast track
Start with Detection
  • Every topic follows the same simple pattern: what it is, how it works, common mistakes
  • Diagrams and real command output where a picture explains it best
  • Exam tips and worked subnetting and IPv6 practice, with answers

How the exam is weighted

Each domain is worth this share of the exam, so spend your study time in proportion. Select a domain to open its chapter.

Chapters

Open a chapter to see its topics and how long each takes.

1Detection7 topics · 37 min fast trackAlerting with CloudWatch, EventBridge, GuardDuty and Security Hub, logging design and pipeline troubleshooting.
  1. 1CloudWatch Alarms and Metric Filters5 min
  2. 2EventBridge Alerting Pipelines6 min
  3. 3GuardDuty and Detective5 min
  4. 4Security Hub, Inspector and Macie5 min
  5. 5CloudTrail Logging Design6 min
  6. 6Network and Service Logs5 min
  7. 7Troubleshooting Detection Pipelines5 min
Read the chapter overview →
2Incident Response5 topics · 27 min fast trackPlanning and testing, automated response, compromised credentials, workload forensics and investigation.
  1. 1Incident Response Plan and Testing5 min
  2. 2Automated Response and Remediation5 min
  3. 3Responding to Compromised Credentials6 min
  4. 4Compromised Workload Forensics6 min
  5. 5Investigating Security Events5 min
Read the chapter overview →
3Infrastructure Security7 topics · 40 min fast trackEdge services, compute workloads, VPC design, network inspection and connectivity troubleshooting.
  1. 1CloudFront Edge Security5 min
  2. 2WAF, Shield and Firewall Manager5 min
  3. 3Load Balancer, API and DNS Security5 min
  4. 4EC2 Instance Hardening and Patching5 min
  5. 5Container and Serverless Security8 min
  6. 6VPC Segmentation and Endpoints6 min
  7. 7Network Firewall and Troubleshooting6 min
Read the chapter overview →
4Identity and Access Management6 topics · 33 min fast trackWorkforce and customer sign in, roles and STS, policy evaluation, conditions and ABAC, and access troubleshooting.
  1. 1Workforce Identity and Federation5 min
  2. 2Cognito and Application Authentication6 min
  3. 3IAM Roles, STS and MFA5 min
  4. 4Policy Types and Evaluation Logic6 min
  5. 5Conditions, ABAC and Delegation5 min
  6. 6Access Analysis and Troubleshooting6 min
Read the chapter overview →
5Data Protection7 topics · 39 min fast trackEncryption in transit, KMS and key management, encryption at rest, secrets and data lifecycle.
  1. 1TLS and Certificate Management5 min
  2. 2Hybrid Connectivity Encryption6 min
  3. 3KMS Keys, Policies and Grants6 min
  4. 4Multi Region Keys, HSM and Key Material6 min
  5. 5Storage and Database Encryption6 min
  6. 6Secrets Manager and Parameter Store5 min
  7. 7Data Classification, Backup and Retention5 min
Read the chapter overview →
6Security Foundations and Governance6 topics · 31 min fast trackMulti account strategy, Control Tower, secure deployment and compliance checks.
  1. 1Organizations and Policy Types5 min
  2. 2Control Tower and Landing Zones5 min
  3. 3Central Security Account Patterns6 min
  4. 4Secure Deployment with IaC5 min
  5. 5AWS Config Rules and Aggregation5 min
  6. 6Compliance Reporting and Audit Evidence5 min
Read the chapter overview →

Ready for more practice?

The full AWS SCS-C03 question bank has 858 questions, with timed practice exams and an explanation for every answer.

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