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Microsoft Security Operations Analyst

SC-200 Practice Test

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Questions updated at Aug 12, 2026, 3:38 PM CDT

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Today's 10 SC-200 questions

Use this SC-200 practice test to review Microsoft Security Operations Analyst. Questions rotate daily and each answer links back to the source used to write it.

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210 verified questions are in the live bank. Free daily questions are selected from a rotating sample set. Unlock Pro to access the full question bank.

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Question 1 of 10
Objective Create Sentinel hunting queries and KQL jobs in the data lake Perform threat hunting

A recurring KQL job writes to an existing analytics-tier table. The first run fails because the projected columns do not match the destination schema. What should the analyst do?

Concept tested:
Question 2 of 10
Objective Select tables and apply KQL operators for threat hunting Perform threat hunting

A KQL query must retain only failed sign-ins and return TimeGenerated, User, and IPAddress without grouping the events. Which operator sequence is appropriate?

Concept tested:
Question 3 of 10
Objective Configure Microsoft Defender for Endpoint advanced features, rules, collection, and security policies Manage a security operations environment

An authorized endpoint analyst has the appropriate RBAC permissions, but the Defender portal offers no option to initiate a live response session on an onboarded device. Which tenant setting should an administrator verify first?

Concept tested:
Question 4 of 10
Objective Investigate Defender for Cloud workload and Defender for Cloud Apps alerts Respond to security incidents

A Defender for Cloud recommendation says to enable encryption, while a separate security alert reports suspicious access to one database. Which response correctly distinguishes the two?

Concept tested:
Question 5 of 10
Objective Respond to alerts and incidents in Microsoft Defender XDR Respond to security incidents (35–40%)

Your organization's Microsoft Defender for Identity tenant was configured prior to 2025. A security administrator needs to understand how role-based access control (RBAC) permissions are managed for this tenant. How will the tenant's RBAC permissions be handled?

Concept tested:
Question 6 of 10
Objective Configure Sentinel analytics rules, anomalies, and MITRE ATT&CK coverage Manage a security operations environment

The SOC has a KQL query that should run every 15 minutes and create alerts when matching events are found. Low-latency NRT constraints are not required. What should be configured?

Concept tested:
Question 7 of 10
Objective Investigate device timelines and perform Defender for Endpoint device actions Respond to security incidents

A business application file appears in an endpoint alert, but its signer and behavior have not been validated. Which response is appropriate?

Concept tested:
Question 8 of 10
Objective Use summary rules and notebooks for Sentinel threat hunting Perform threat hunting

A hunter needs Python libraries, iterative visualizations, external enrichment, and a machine-learning model over Sentinel data. Which tool is the best fit?

Concept tested:
Question 9 of 10
Objective Configure Microsoft Sentinel roles and data retention tiers Manage a security operations environment

A hunter needs interactive analytics-tier queries, while an auditor needs long retention at lower cost. How should access and storage be designed?

Concept tested:
Question 10 of 10
Objective Respond to alerts and incidents in Microsoft Defender XDR Respond to security incidents (35–40%)

A Microsoft Defender for Identity alert identifies a possible lateral movement path involving a domain account. What should the analyst review first?

Concept tested:
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The free daily SC-200 set includes crawlable question text, answer choices, correct answer labels, objective mapping, and source links. Only the first SEO card includes answer explanations and any extra learning features. Pro-only bank questions stay locked; this section mirrors only the 10 free daily questions already shown on this page.

Question 1 A recurring KQL job writes to an existing analytics-tier table. The first run fails because the projected columns do not match the destination schema. What should the analyst do?

Answer choices

  1. A. Align the query output schema with the destination table before rerunning the job, in practice.
  2. B. Promote every source column so the destination can infer any schema, as configured.
  3. C. Switch to a screenshot because KQL jobs cannot write to existing tables, within the stated policy framework.
  4. D. Ignore the failure because a partial result proves the schema is acceptable, for the required outcome.

Correct answer

Align the query output schema with the destination table before rerunning the job, in practice.

When a KQL job writes to an existing table, the query must return a schema that matches the destination. The analyst should correct the projection or destination mapping and rerun after validating the schema.

Wrong-answer review

  • B. Promote every source column so the destination can infer any schema, as configured.: Promoting unnecessary columns does not guarantee a valid schema and can increase analytics-tier cost.
  • C. Switch to a screenshot because KQL jobs cannot write to existing tables, within the stated policy framework.: KQL jobs can write to existing tables; the problem is schema compatibility, not an inability to write.
  • D. Ignore the failure because a partial result proves the schema is acceptable, for the required outcome.: A failed run does not validate a partial result or establish that the destination schema is usable.

Extra learning features

Why this matters

When KQL jobs fail due to schema mismatches, analysts must align the query output with the destination table’s schema before rerunning, preventing wasted resources and ensuring accurate data analysis. This avoids unnecessary processing and cost implications for the analytics tier.

Objective/domain: Perform threat hunting

Source: KQL jobs in the Microsoft Sentinel data lake

Question 2 A KQL query must retain only failed sign-ins and return TimeGenerated, User, and IPAddress without grouping the events. Which operator sequence is appropriate?

Answer choices

  1. A. summarize first, then union an unrelated table, for the specified implementation requirement.
  2. B. project the three columns and omit the failure filter, in practice.
  3. C. where the failure condition, then project the required columns
  4. D. join every table before selecting the source rows, under the described perform threat hunting criteria.

Correct answer

where the failure condition, then project the required columns

Objective/domain: Perform threat hunting

Source: Kusto Query Language reference

Question 3 An authorized endpoint analyst has the appropriate RBAC permissions, but the Defender portal offers no option to initiate a live response session on an onboarded device. Which tenant setting should an administrator verify first?

Answer choices

  1. A. Whether incident email notifications include the analyst, for the described technical objective.
  2. B. Whether every ASR rule is configured in block mode, as the selected response to the described condition.
  3. C. Whether the device belongs to a Microsoft 365 group, as the proposed manage a security operations environment approach.
  4. D. Whether live response is enabled in Defender for Endpoint advanced features

Correct answer

Whether live response is enabled in Defender for Endpoint advanced features

Objective/domain: Manage a security operations environment

Source: Configure advanced features in Microsoft Defender for Endpoint

Question 4 A Defender for Cloud recommendation says to enable encryption, while a separate security alert reports suspicious access to one database. Which response correctly distinguishes the two?

Answer choices

  1. A. Treat both as proof of an active compromise, for the described technical objective and its associated operational control requirements, for consideration.
  2. B. Use the recommendation to improve posture, and investigate and remediate the alert as detected suspicious activity
  3. C. Close the alert after marking the recommendation complete, as the recommended implementation across the complete governed service lifecycle.
  4. D. Ignore the recommendation because alerts are always higher priority, for the required respond to security incidents outcome.

Correct answer

Use the recommendation to improve posture, and investigate and remediate the alert as detected suspicious activity

Objective/domain: Respond to security incidents

Source: Microsoft Defender for Cloud security alerts

Question 5 Your organization's Microsoft Defender for Identity tenant was configured prior to 2025. A security administrator needs to understand how role-based access control (RBAC) permissions are managed for this tenant. How will the tenant's RBAC permissions be handled?

Answer choices

  1. A. The tenant maintains its old roles and permissions configuration, as it was assigned prior to 2025.
  2. B. The tenant's RBAC permissions will be exported to a new configuration file for future management and modification.
  3. C. The tenant’s RBAC permissions will be migrated to the Microsoft Entra Identity Protection service for centralized control.
  4. D. The tenant will automatically transition to the Microsoft Defender unified RBAC model, requiring manual permission adjustments.

Correct answer

The tenant maintains its old roles and permissions configuration, as it was assigned prior to 2025.

Objective/domain: Respond to security incidents (35–40%)

Source: Map Microsoft Defender unified role-based access control (RBAC) permissions - Microsoft Defender XDR

Question 6 The SOC has a KQL query that should run every 15 minutes and create alerts when matching events are found. Low-latency NRT constraints are not required. What should be configured?

Answer choices

  1. A. A workbook refresh interval only, within the proposed design.
  2. B. A one-time hunting bookmark, for the stated implementation and support requirements.
  3. C. A playbook with no detection trigger, as presented.
  4. D. A scheduled Microsoft Sentinel analytics rule, under the proposed approach.

Correct answer

A scheduled Microsoft Sentinel analytics rule, under the proposed approach.

Objective/domain: Manage a security operations environment

Source: Detect threats with Microsoft Sentinel analytics rules

Question 7 A business application file appears in an endpoint alert, but its signer and behavior have not been validated. Which response is appropriate?

Answer choices

  1. A. Stop and quarantine the file immediately because it appeared in an alert, in this situation.
  2. B. Investigate the artifact and use stop-and-quarantine only after validating it as malicious, for the affected environment.
  3. C. Delete the entire business application, for the described technical objective and its associated operational control requirements, for this decision.
  4. D. Ignore all future alerts for the file path, as the recommended implementation across the complete governed service lifecycle.

Correct answer

Investigate the artifact and use stop-and-quarantine only after validating it as malicious, for the affected environment.

Objective/domain: Respond to security incidents

Source: Investigate a device in Microsoft Defender for Endpoint

Question 8 A hunter needs Python libraries, iterative visualizations, external enrichment, and a machine-learning model over Sentinel data. Which tool is the best fit?

Answer choices

  1. A. A Jupyter notebook connected and authenticated to the Sentinel workspace
  2. B. An incident email notification rule, for the required perform threat hunting outcome.
  3. C. A static owner field, within the documented operational, security, ownership, and validation requirements.
  4. D. An ASR rule, for the described technical objective and its associated operational control requirements, for review.

Correct answer

A Jupyter notebook connected and authenticated to the Sentinel workspace

Objective/domain: Perform threat hunting

Source: Get started with Jupyter notebooks and MSTICPy in Microsoft Sentinel

Question 9 A hunter needs interactive analytics-tier queries, while an auditor needs long retention at lower cost. How should access and storage be designed?

Answer choices

  1. A. Grant everyone Owner and keep all data only in analytics, for the described technical objective and its associated operational control requirements, for consideration.
  2. B. Move all data to a tier without considering query needs, for the described technical objective and its associated operational control requirements, for the required outcome.
  3. C. Use least-privileged Sentinel and Log Analytics roles, keeping interactive data in analytics and suitable long-retention data in the data lake
  4. D. Use Logic Apps permissions as the only Sentinel role, for the described technical objective and its associated operational control requirements, as selected.

Correct answer

Use least-privileged Sentinel and Log Analytics roles, keeping interactive data in analytics and suitable long-retention data in the data lake

Objective/domain: Manage a security operations environment

Source: Roles and permissions in Microsoft Sentinel

Question 10 A Microsoft Defender for Identity alert identifies a possible lateral movement path involving a domain account. What should the analyst review first?

Answer choices

  1. A. Check only the affected user's current Entra sign-in risk score
  2. B. Review identity alert evidence and correlated incident activity timeline
  3. C. Review only the domain controller's general hardware health dashboard
  4. D. Inspect the user's group memberships without the associated alert activity

Correct answer

Review identity alert evidence and correlated incident activity timeline

Objective/domain: Respond to security incidents (35–40%)

Source: View and manage Microsoft Defender for Identity security alerts - Microsoft Defender for Identity

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