20 AWS CloudTrail Interview Questions and Answers

AWS CloudTrail is a service that enables you to monitor, log, and analyze your AWS account activity. It is an important tool for any AWS user, and as such, you may be asked questions about it during a job interview. In this article, we review some of the most common AWS CloudTrail interview questions and provide suggested answers to help you prepare for your next interview.

AWS CloudTrail Interview Questions and Answers

Here are 20 commonly asked AWS CloudTrail interview questions and answers to prepare you for your interview:

1. What is AWS CloudTrail?

AWS CloudTrail is a web service that records AWS API calls for your account and delivers log files to you. The recorded information includes the identity of the API caller, the time of the API call, the source IP address of the API caller, the request parameters, and the response elements returned by the AWS service.

2. Can you explain how to create a Trail in AWS CloudTrail?

You can create a Trail in AWS CloudTrail by using the AWS Management Console, the AWS CloudTrail API, or the AWS Command Line Interface (CLI). To create a Trail using the AWS Management Console, you will first need to create an Amazon S3 bucket to store your log files. Once you have created the bucket, you will need to specify the name of the bucket and the prefix for your log files. You will also need to specify the Amazon SNS topic that you want to use to receive notifications when new log files are delivered to your bucket. Finally, you will need to specify the IAM role that you want to use to allow CloudTrail to write log files to your bucket. To create a Trail using the AWS CloudTrail API, you will need to specify the name of the Trail, the name of the Amazon S3 bucket to which you want to deliver your log files, the Amazon SNS topic to which you want to deliver notifications, and the IAM role that you want to use to allow CloudTrail to write log files to your bucket. To create a Trail using the AWS CLI, you will need to use the “create-trail” command and specify the name of the Trail, the name of the Amazon S3 bucket to which you want to deliver your log files, the Amazon SNS topic to which you want to deliver notifications, and the IAM role that you want to use to allow CloudTrail to write log files to your bucket.

3. How can we enable logging for S3 buckets using CloudTrail?

In order to enable logging for S3 buckets using CloudTrail, you will need to create a new trail and specify the buckets that you would like to log. CloudTrail will then automatically create log files for all activity in those buckets, which you can use to track what is happening in your S3 storage.

4. Do all API calls made by an IAM user show up on CloudTrail logs? If not, which ones don’t?

No, not all API calls made by an IAM user show up on CloudTrail logs. CloudTrail only logs calls made using the AWS Management Console, AWS SDKs, command line tools, and other AWS services. Calls made using the API Gateway, for example, will not show up on CloudTrail logs.

5. How do you get the list of all trails created in your AWS account?

You can get the list of all trails created in your AWS account by using the AWS CloudTrail console, the AWS CloudTrail API, or the AWS Command Line Interface (CLI).

6. When would you use multiple Trails in CloudTrail?

Multiple Trails can be useful in a few different situations. One common use case is to have one Trail enabled for all regions, and then have additional Trails enabled for specific regions of interest. This can be helpful if you want to track activity in all regions, but want to be able to more easily drill down into activity in specific regions. Another common use case is to have one Trail enabled for all AWS accounts in an organization, and then have additional Trails enabled for specific AWS accounts of interest. This can be helpful in tracking activity across an organization, while still being able to easily drill down into activity in specific AWS accounts.

7. Is it possible to turn off logging for certain events with CloudTrail? If yes, then how?

Yes, it is possible to turn off logging for certain events with CloudTrail. You can do this by creating a trail with a filter that excludes the events that you don’t want to log.

8. Can you explain what multi-region and global services are in context with CloudTrail?

Multi-region and global services are services that are available in multiple AWS regions. CloudTrail logs events for these services, regardless of the region in which they were performed. This allows you to track activity for these services across all regions from a single location.

9. Can you give me some examples of real world usage of CloudTrail?

CloudTrail is used to monitor and log all activity within an AWS account. This includes all actions taken by users, roles, and services. CloudTrail can be used to track down issues with AWS resources, monitor for suspicious activity, and compliance auditing.

10. Can you give me more details about the data provided by CloudTrail event history?

CloudTrail event history provides a record of all API activity in your AWS account, including information on who made the request, when it was made, what resources were accessed, and what actions were taken. This data can be extremely helpful in troubleshooting and auditing your AWS account activity.

11. Is it possible to configure CloudWatch metrics for CloudTrail logs? If so, where can you find these metrics?

Yes, it is possible to configure CloudWatch metrics for CloudTrail logs. You can find these metrics by going to the CloudWatch console and selecting the “Metrics” tab. From there, you should see a list of all the available CloudTrail metrics.

12. Can you tell me if there’s any way to access or download my CloudTrail log files from Amazon S3?

Yes, you can access and download your CloudTrail log files from Amazon S3. You can either use the AWS Management Console or the AWS Command Line Interface (CLI).

13. Can you explain what log file integrity validation is?

Log file integrity validation is a process that helps to ensure that the log files generated by AWS CloudTrail have not been tampered with. This is accomplished by calculating a cryptographic hash for each log file and then comparing that hash to a known hash value. If the two values match, then the log file has not been modified and can be considered valid.

14. What steps should be taken to ensure that unauthorized users cannot modify or delete CloudTrail log files from Amazon S3?

The first step is to ensure that the Amazon S3 bucket that CloudTrail log files are being stored in is not publicly accessible. The second step is to create an IAM role that has read-only access to the bucket and assign that role to the CloudTrail service. Finally, you should configure CloudTrail to encrypt log files at rest using AWS KMS.

15. What does continuous monitoring mean in context with CloudTrail?

Continuous monitoring in CloudTrail means that the service is constantly monitoring for changes to your AWS account and will immediately notify you of any changes that occur. This allows you to quickly identify and respond to any potential security threats.

16. What is the difference between management events and data events in CloudTrail?

Management events are actions that are performed on your AWS account, such as creating or deleting an Amazon S3 bucket. Data events are actions that are performed on the resources in your AWS account, such as reading or writing data to an Amazon S3 bucket.

17. What is the maximum size allowed for each CloudTrail log file?

The maximum size for each CloudTrail log file is 50 MB.

18. What is the default retention period for log files stored in the s3 bucket used by CloudTrail?

The default retention period for log files stored in the s3 bucket used by CloudTrail is 90 days.

19. Can you explain what trail tags are?

Trail tags are key-value pairs that you can use to organize and categorize your AWS CloudTrail trails. You can add tags to a trail when you create it or edit tags for an existing trail.

20. What happens to existing log files when you update a trail?

When you update an existing trail, any new log files that are created will be automatically included in the trail. However, any existing log files will not be affected.