AWS WAF for CloudFront HTTP/HTTPS Monitoring
Short answer
C Use AWS WAF to monitor and block malicious HTTP/HTTPS requests directed at Amazon CloudFront distributions.
Question
Key Takeaways
The question tests knowledge of AWS managed services for web traffic security, specifically distinguishing between network-level protection (WAF) and threat intelligence (GuardDuty).
AWS WAF is the correct service to monitor and block malicious HTTP/HTTPS requests at Amazon CloudFront distributions. This page explains why AWS WAF is the standard solution for web application firewalls in AWS.
Common mistake: Candidates often incorrectly choose Amazon GuardDuty because it provides threat detection, but GuardDuty does not actively block HTTP/HTTPS requests like a Web Application Firewall.
Expert Analysis
Why the Answer Is Correct
Amazon Web Services (AWS) WAF (Web Application Firewall) is designed specifically to protect web applications from common web exploits that could affect application availability, compromise security, or consume excessive resources. It inspects HTTP and HTTPS requests and allows you to create rules to allow, block, or count web requests based on conditions such as IP addresses, HTTP headers, body content, URI strings, and query strings. Since the requirement is to monitor and block malicious requests for CloudFront distributions, AWS WAF is the ideal integrated solution.
Why the Other Options Are Wrong
Amazon GuardDuty is a threat detection service that uses machine learning to identify suspicious activity, such as compromised instances or unauthorized API calls, but it does not act as a firewall to block HTTP/HTTPS traffic. Amazon Inspector is an automated security assessment service that scans EC2 instances and container images for vulnerabilities and deviations from best practices; it does not filter live web traffic. Amazon Detective analyzes logs and traces to investigate potential security issues but does not have the capability to block incoming requests.
Community Comment Notes
The community consensus strongly supports AWS WAF. As one user noted, "HTTP HTTPS deals with web so AWS WAF ez:)" Another comment reinforced this by stating that "An AWS WAF rule defines how to inspect HTTP(S) web requests and the action to take..." These comments highlight the direct link between web protocols and the WAF service.
Official Reference
https://docs.aws.amazon.com/waf/latest/developerguide/web-acl-cloudfront.html
This link opens the official vendor documentation in a new tab.
Exam Strategy
When a question mentions blocking or allowing web traffic (HTTP/HTTPS), immediately consider AWS WAF. If the question involves analyzing logs for threats without blocking, look for GuardDuty or CloudTrail.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I use AWS WAF with CloudFront?
Does GuardDuty block malicious traffic?
Community Votes
100% of anonymous learners picked answer C. Votes are pick records left by other test-takers — they are not the verified answer.
Discussion 3 contributions
Compiled from public community threads and reader submissions, lightly edited for clarity. Handles and vote tallies are shown as recorded, and comments reflect the views of individual contributors.
From public community threads 3
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PENNSHARK 👍 2 Answered CHTTP HTTPS deals with web so AWS WAF ez :)
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Boethius 👍 1C. AWS WAF - An AWS WAF rule defines how to inspect HTTP(S) web requests and the action to take on a request when it matches the inspection criteria. You define rules only in the context of a rule group or web ACL.
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ShaiTay 👍 2 Answered CC. AWS WAF
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