SC-200: Microsoft Security Operations Analyst Exam Practice Test
The SC-200: Microsoft Security Operations Analyst certification exam is designed for security professionals who play a critical role in protecting organizational infrastructure and data. This certification validates your skills in detecting, investigating, and responding to threats using Microsoft security technologies. If you’re aiming to advance your career in cybersecurity and Microsoft security operations, the SC-200 exam is an essential credential to obtain.
What Is the SC-200 Certification Exam?
The SC-200 exam focuses on the role of a Security Operations Analyst, responsible for threat detection, investigation, and incident response. Candidates are tested on their knowledge and practical skills in Microsoft security products like Microsoft Sentinel, Microsoft Defender, and Azure Security Center. This exam ensures you understand how to use these tools to monitor security alerts, analyze threats, and implement effective mitigation strategies.
What Will You Learn?
Preparing for the SC-200 exam equips you with advanced skills in several critical areas of security operations. You’ll learn how to:
Configure and manage Microsoft Sentinel and other security tools to collect and analyze security data
Use Azure Security Center and Microsoft Defender solutions to detect vulnerabilities and threats
Investigate and respond to security incidents efficiently through automated workflows and playbooks
Implement threat hunting techniques using Kusto Query Language (KQL)
Manage alerts and incidents to prioritize and mitigate risks effectively
Apply security best practices for identity and access management, endpoint protection, and data security
These skills are essential for any security professional responsible for safeguarding modern cloud and hybrid environments.
Key Topics Covered in the SC-200 Exam Practice Test
The SC-200 exam covers a wide range of topics to test your comprehensive understanding of security operations within the Microsoft ecosystem. Some of the core areas include:
Microsoft Sentinel Setup and Management: Learn how to deploy and configure Microsoft Sentinel, set up data connectors, and manage workspace data.
Threat Detection and Analytics: Gain insights into creating analytics rules, using behavioral analytics, and integrating threat intelligence to detect suspicious activities.
Incident Response and Investigation: Understand how to triage incidents, investigate alerts, and automate responses using Azure Logic Apps and Playbooks.
Security Data Collection and Management: Explore data collection rules, log management, and data retention policies within Azure Log Analytics.
Identity and Access Management: Cover security monitoring for Azure AD, multi-factor authentication, and identity protection.
Advanced Hunting and Querying: Build proficiency in Kusto Query Language (KQL) for threat hunting and data analysis.
Why Choose Exam Sage for SC-200 Exam Preparation?
ExamSage.com offers a comprehensive and meticulously crafted SC-200 practice test designed to help you succeed on your certification journey. Our practice exams are:
Up-to-date: Questions reflect the latest exam objectives and Microsoft security tools updates.
High quality: Each question is crafted by industry experts with clear, detailed explanations to deepen your understanding.
Realistic: Mimics the actual exam format to boost your confidence and exam readiness.
User-friendly: Accessible on multiple devices so you can study anytime, anywhere.
Comprehensive: Covers all major exam topics, ensuring no critical area is overlooked.
By practicing with Exam Sage, you gain valuable insights into the SC-200 exam pattern and question types, enabling you to identify your strengths and areas for improvement. This targeted preparation increases your chances of passing the exam on your first attempt.
Start your journey to becoming a certified Microsoft Security Operations Analyst today with Exam Sage’s SC-200 practice test. Prepare confidently, master critical security skills, and take a significant step forward in your cybersecurity career.
Sample Questions and Answers
1. You are investigating a phishing alert in Microsoft Defender for Office 365. Which portal should you use to analyze the email header and original message content?
A. Microsoft 365 compliance center
B. Microsoft 365 Defender portal
C. Azure Security Center
D. Exchange Admin Center
Answer: B
Explanation: The Microsoft 365 Defender portal consolidates security tools and allows email message tracing and in-depth phishing investigation.
2. What is the primary purpose of Kusto Query Language (KQL) in Microsoft Sentinel?
A. To manage Azure subscriptions
B. To write logic apps
C. To query and analyze security data
D. To configure automation rules
Answer: C
Explanation: KQL is used in Sentinel to query logs, build analytics rules, and investigate incidents.
3. Which of the following data connectors is required to ingest security data from Microsoft Defender for Endpoint into Microsoft Sentinel?
A. Azure Activity
B. Office 365
C. Microsoft Defender for Endpoint
D. Security Events
Answer: C
Explanation: To stream data from Microsoft Defender for Endpoint into Sentinel, the native “Microsoft Defender for Endpoint” data connector must be used.
4. What is the function of Microsoft Defender SmartScreen?
A. Encrypt email messages
B. Protect against zero-day threats
C. Warn users about malicious websites and downloads
D. Block USB storage devices
Answer: C
Explanation: SmartScreen is a browser-based feature that warns users about potentially unsafe websites and files.
5. In Microsoft Sentinel, what are playbooks used for?
A. Storing log data
B. Performing automated response actions
C. Viewing dashboards
D. Managing access control
Answer: B
Explanation: Playbooks are Azure Logic Apps that automate workflows like isolating devices or notifying teams after alerts.
6. Which Microsoft service uses behavioral signals from endpoints to identify suspicious activity?
A. Azure Monitor
B. Microsoft Defender for Endpoint
C. Microsoft Defender for Office 365
D. Azure AD Identity Protection
Answer: B
Explanation: Microsoft Defender for Endpoint continuously monitors and uses behavioral analytics to detect threats.
7. A security analyst needs to investigate suspicious sign-ins. What tool should they use in Microsoft 365 Defender?
A. Activity Explorer
B. Audit Logs
C. Advanced Hunting
D. Secure Score
Answer: C
Explanation: Advanced Hunting enables complex queries to investigate identity and device events.
8. In Microsoft Sentinel, which of the following helps detect known attack patterns?
A. Watchlists
B. Hunting queries
C. Analytics rules
D. Data connectors
Answer: C
Explanation: Analytics rules are designed to continuously detect and alert on specific threats or behaviors.
9. What action does Microsoft Defender for Identity take when it detects a Pass-the-Hash attack?
A. Automatically blocks the attacker
B. Generates an alert and enriches identity data
C. Deletes affected credentials
D. Reboots affected domain controllers
Answer: B
Explanation: Defender for Identity provides rich identity-based alerts when it detects techniques like Pass-the-Hash.
10. In Microsoft Sentinel, which feature allows analysts to explore data without generating alerts?
A. Watchlists
B. Notebooks
C. Workbooks
D. Hunting
Answer: D
Explanation: Hunting is used for proactive threat hunting without triggering alerts.
11. Which built-in role in Azure Sentinel provides access to view data and dashboards but not edit analytics rules?
A. Reader
B. Contributor
C. Sentinel Responder
D. Sentinel Reader
Answer: D
Explanation: The Sentinel Reader role provides read-only access to Sentinel data and dashboards.
12. What does Microsoft Defender for Endpoint use to isolate a device from the network?
A. Host Firewall
B. Windows Sandbox
C. Network isolation feature
D. Application Guard
Answer: C
Explanation: The isolation feature disconnects a compromised device while maintaining Defender communication.
13. What type of rule in Microsoft Sentinel helps reduce alert fatigue by grouping alerts into incidents?
A. Fusion rule
B. Scheduled rule
C. Alert rule
D. Playbook
Answer: A
Explanation: Fusion rules use ML to correlate alerts into fewer, higher-confidence incidents.
14. What kind of device group in Microsoft Defender for Endpoint helps segment alerts by business unit?
A. Security baseline
B. Endpoint group
C. Device group
D. Domain group
Answer: C
Explanation: Device groups help in organizing devices and applying RBAC in Defender for Endpoint.
15. What does Microsoft Defender for Identity monitor to detect lateral movement paths?
A. SQL servers
B. Network flows
C. Active Directory traffic
D. Azure Resource Graph
Answer: C
Explanation: Defender for Identity analyzes AD traffic to detect lateral movements and credential abuse.
16. Which Microsoft tool helps secure identity-based access across hybrid environments?
A. Azure AD Privileged Identity Management
B. Microsoft Defender for Office 365
C. Microsoft Sentinel
D. Azure Monitor
Answer: A
Explanation: PIM provides time-bound and approval-based role access to minimize identity risk.
17. What does the “Threat Analytics” feature in Microsoft 365 Defender provide?
A. Alerts for IoT devices
B. Insights into ongoing threats and vulnerabilities
C. VPN configuration
D. Backup automation
Answer: B
Explanation: Threat Analytics helps SOC teams understand the context and mitigation of emerging threats.
18. How can Microsoft Sentinel reduce storage costs without losing old data?
A. Export to Log Analytics workspace
B. Use Just-in-time access
C. Archive logs to Azure Storage
D. Enable data masking
Answer: C
Explanation: Logs can be archived to Azure Storage for long-term retention and cost savings.
19. In which situation would you use a custom analytics rule in Sentinel?
A. To automate remediation
B. To create a dashboard
C. To detect a specific behavior not covered by built-in rules
D. To onboard a data connector
Answer: C
Explanation: Custom rules allow detection of unique patterns or behaviors not available out-of-the-box.
20. What kind of entity would you typically enrich using Microsoft Sentinel Watchlists?
A. Azure regions
B. Email subscriptions
C. IP addresses, domains, or user accounts
D. SQL queries
Answer: C
Explanation: Watchlists are used to enrich incidents by cross-referencing known bad IPs, users, etc.
21. What is the primary use of the MITRE ATT&CK framework in Microsoft Sentinel?
A. Automate remediation
B. Deploy playbooks
C. Map analytics rules to known attack tactics
D. Create virtual machines
Answer: C
Explanation: Sentinel maps detections to MITRE ATT&CK to classify threats by tactics and techniques.
22. Which component in Microsoft Defender for Endpoint allows file-level analysis using a sandbox environment?
A. File Integrity Monitoring
B. Threat Explorer
C. Attack Surface Reduction
D. Microsoft Defender Antivirus cloud protection
Answer: D
Explanation: Defender Antivirus cloud protection uses sandboxing to analyze suspicious files in real time.
23. What tool allows exporting incident data from Microsoft Sentinel to external systems?
A. Log Analytics Agent
B. Data Connector
C. API/Logic App
D. Threat Intelligence
Answer: C
Explanation: Sentinel can export incident data via REST API or Logic Apps for external use.
24. What capability does Microsoft 365 Defender use to correlate alerts from multiple sources?
A. Fusion AI
B. Advanced Hunting
C. Incident grouping
D. Unified correlation
Answer: C
Explanation: Incident grouping in Defender correlates alerts from Defender for Endpoint, Office, Identity, etc.
25. Which tool in Azure enables querying of raw log data across all Microsoft Sentinel tables?
A. Workbook
B. Analytics rule
C. KQL console
D. Logs blade
Answer: D
Explanation: The Logs blade in Sentinel enables full access to raw data using KQL.
26. Which of the following helps track user and entity behavior over time to detect anomalies?
A. SIEM Connector
B. UEBA
C. Azure Monitor
D. Just-in-time VM access
Answer: B
Explanation: User and Entity Behavior Analytics (UEBA) provides anomaly detection in Sentinel.
27. How can a SOC team validate whether a detected threat is part of a larger campaign?
A. Run a workbook
B. Use threat analytics
C. Enable attack simulation training
D. Perform a ping test
Answer: B
Explanation: Threat analytics in Defender offers intelligence on broader campaigns and actor techniques.
28. Which type of Sentinel rule runs at scheduled intervals to analyze data and generate alerts?
A. Scheduled rule
B. Watchlist rule
C. Workbook rule
D. Real-time alert rule
Answer: A
Explanation: Scheduled analytics rules query log data periodically to detect patterns.
29. What is the benefit of integrating Microsoft Cloud App Security (MCAS) with Microsoft Defender for Endpoint?
A. Automatically blocks Office macros
B. Ingests alerts and enables session control for risky apps
C. Disables accounts
D. Configures VPNs
Answer: B
Explanation: Integrating MCAS with Defender allows cloud session control and visibility over app use.
30. Which of the following is essential for ensuring RBAC in Microsoft Sentinel?
A. Data connectors
B. KQL queries
C. Azure role assignments
D. Logic Apps
Answer: C
Explanation: Azure role-based access control governs what users can access or modify in Sentinel.
31. You need to verify the health status of the Microsoft Sentinel data connector. Where should you look?
A. Azure Resource Health
B. Sentinel Analytics Rules
C. Data connectors blade in Microsoft Sentinel
D. Azure AD Sign-ins
Answer: C
Explanation: The Data connectors blade shows the status of each connector, including configuration errors and data ingestion success.
32. What is the primary benefit of using Fusion analytics in Microsoft Sentinel?
A. Enabling firewall integration
B. Correlating low-fidelity alerts across Microsoft 365 services
C. Creating dashboards
D. Exporting data to Power BI
Answer: B
Explanation: Fusion uses machine learning to correlate multiple alerts into a high-confidence incident, reducing false positives.
33. Which Sentinel feature allows you to automate actions like blocking an IP after an alert triggers?
A. Azure Monitor
B. Automation Rules
C. Workbooks
D. Hunting Queries
Answer: B
Explanation: Automation rules define when and how playbooks or actions should run based on incident conditions.
34. A threat actor attempts to brute-force a user’s account. Where will this alert appear?
A. Azure Policy
B. Microsoft Defender for Endpoint
C. Microsoft Defender for Identity
D. Azure AD Identity Protection
Answer: D
Explanation: Azure AD Identity Protection detects risky sign-ins and brute-force attempts on user accounts.
35. What log category would you use in Sentinel to analyze firewall activity?
A. AzureActivity
B. SecurityAlert
C. CommonSecurityLog
D. AADSigninLogs
Answer: C
Explanation: Firewall devices send syslog data through the CommonSecurityLog schema.
36. What’s the purpose of Azure Lighthouse in the context of Sentinel?
A. Provide alert templates
B. Manage Microsoft 365 apps
C. Enable cross-tenant security monitoring
D. Run PowerShell scripts
Answer: C
Explanation: Azure Lighthouse allows MSSPs or organizations to manage Sentinel across multiple tenants securely.
37. You need to correlate user sign-in activity with file access logs. Which Microsoft 365 Defender feature should you use?
A. Secure Score
B. Advanced Hunting
C. Threat Analytics
D. Cloud App Discovery
Answer: B
Explanation: Advanced Hunting enables cross-product correlation of data from sources like Azure AD and SharePoint.
38. Which detection method is used in Microsoft Defender for Endpoint to identify fileless malware?
A. Hash comparison
B. Behavior-based detection
C. Signature-based antivirus
D. Port scanning
Answer: B
Explanation: Fileless malware is typically detected through behavioral analytics rather than signatures or hashes.
39. Which capability allows you to simulate real-world attacks to validate security readiness in Microsoft 365 Defender?
A. Secure Score
B. Attack Simulation Training
C. Threat Analytics
D. Playbooks
Answer: B
Explanation: Attack Simulation Training lets organizations test user behavior and detection capabilities.
40. You need to ensure only approved devices can access your environment. Which tool should you use?
A. Microsoft Cloud App Security
B. Microsoft Defender SmartScreen
C. Conditional Access
D. Information Protection
Answer: C
Explanation: Conditional Access policies can enforce controls like device compliance and app restrictions.
41. What kind of alert would be generated when a suspicious PowerShell command runs on an endpoint?
A. IdentityAlert
B. DeviceAlert
C. CloudAppAlert
D. Defender for Endpoint alert
Answer: D
Explanation: Microsoft Defender for Endpoint monitors script execution and triggers alerts for suspicious behavior.
42. Which of the following Sentinel features can help analysts visualize large-scale attack trends?
A. Playbooks
B. Workbooks
C. Data connectors
D. Notebooks
Answer: B
Explanation: Workbooks allow interactive visualization of data through dashboards and metrics.
43. How does Defender for Identity detect compromised credentials in Active Directory?
A. By analyzing endpoint traffic
B. By monitoring LDAP, Kerberos, and NTLM traffic
C. Through DNS logs
D. Via Azure Monitor
Answer: B
Explanation: Defender for Identity listens to domain controller network traffic to detect credential theft methods.
44. Which Sentinel component is ideal for threat hunting with Python-based Jupyter Notebooks?
A. Workbooks
B. Rules Templates
C. Notebooks
D. Playbooks
Answer: C
Explanation: Notebooks integrate with Azure ML and Jupyter for advanced data exploration and hunting.
45. You’re building a custom analytics rule that triggers only when the same IP hits multiple resources. What function in KQL should you use?
A. summarize
B. project
C. extend
D. join
Answer: A
Explanation: summarize aggregates data (e.g., by IP address) and is key for identifying patterns like repeated access.
46. Which Microsoft Defender component protects cloud workloads like virtual machines?
A. Microsoft Defender for Endpoint
B. Microsoft Defender for Cloud
C. Microsoft Defender for Identity
D. Microsoft Sentinel
Answer: B
Explanation: Microsoft Defender for Cloud protects IaaS, PaaS, and SaaS resources in Azure and hybrid clouds.
47. What’s the benefit of configuring entity behavior in Microsoft Sentinel?
A. Reduce log ingestion
B. Customize dashboards
C. Enable advanced anomaly detection with UEBA
D. Configure pricing tiers
Answer: C
Explanation: Entity behavior analytics adds context to anomalies by profiling user/device actions over time.
48. You want to generate an alert if a user signs in from two countries within 10 minutes. What type of Sentinel rule should you use?
A. Near-real-time rule
B. Scheduled analytics rule
C. Playbook rule
D. Threat intelligence rule
Answer: B
Explanation: Scheduled analytics rules allow for complex correlation logic and custom timeframes like “within 10 minutes.”
49. What is the function of the IP Risk Level in Sentinel’s threat intelligence feed?
A. Determines geolocation
B. Assigns severity to alerts
C. Helps analysts prioritize investigation
D. Indicates encryption status
Answer: C
Explanation: Risk levels in threat intelligence feeds help prioritize incidents and response.
50. What should you deploy to Sentinel to analyze threats across hybrid environments?
A. Microsoft Defender for Identity
B. Azure AD Domain Services
C. Azure Arc
D. Log Analytics agents
Answer: D
Explanation: Log Analytics agents forward logs from on-prem and cloud resources into Sentinel for unified analysis.
51. You want to enrich Sentinel data with a list of known VIP users. Which feature is best?
A. UEBA
B. Watchlists
C. Workbooks
D. Analytics rules
Answer: B
Explanation: Watchlists can hold a list of users and be referenced in rules or queries to prioritize threats.
52. What Sentinel feature allows you to trigger incident automation based on severity or entity?
A. Playbooks
B. Automation rules
C. Analytics rules
D. Logic Apps
Answer: B
Explanation: Automation rules act as filters and execution triggers for incident-based automation actions.
53. Which type of hunting in Sentinel allows time-series visualization and pivoting on entities?
A. Workbooks
B. UEBA
C. Notebooks
D. Hunting queries
Answer: D
Explanation: Hunting queries let analysts pivot and analyze data temporally and across entities.
54. You need to isolate an infected endpoint automatically during an incident. What should be used?
A. Microsoft Defender SmartScreen
B. Sentinel notebook
C. Playbook with Defender for Endpoint action
D. KQL query
Answer: C
Explanation: A Logic App (playbook) can call Defender for Endpoint APIs to isolate devices programmatically.
55. Which Microsoft Defender tool provides real-time detection of phishing campaigns?
A. Defender for Cloud
B. Defender for Office 365
C. Defender for Endpoint
D. Defender for Identity
Answer: B
Explanation: Defender for Office 365 offers real-time protection and alerting against phishing emails and links.
