AZ-500 Practice Exam 3 — 20 Questions

Question 1

A company stores sensitive healthcare data in Azure SQL Database. They need to encrypt specific columns containing patient diagnosis codes so that even database administrators with the 'sysadmin' role cannot view the plaintext. The application must be able to perform equality searches (WHERE clauses) on the encrypted columns. Which encryption technology should they implement?

Choose an answer to begin — your selection is scored in the full session.

Accepted Answer

Always Encrypted (deterministic encryption). Always Encrypted with deterministic encryption ensures that sensitive columns are encrypted at the client side, so the encryption keys are never revealed to the database engine, including sysadmin roles. Deterministic encryption generates the same ciphertext for the same plaintext, enabling equality searches (WHERE clauses) on encrypted columns without exposing plaintext data to the server.

Answer

Transparent Data Encryption (TDE)

Answer

Row-Level Security (RLS)

Answer

Dynamic Data Masking (DDM)

Question 2

A company deploys a web application on Azure VMs behind an Azure Load Balancer (Standard SKU). They want to protect the application from common web attacks like SQL injection and cross-site scripting. Which Azure service should they enable?

Accepted Answer

Azure Application Gateway with Web Application Firewall (WAF) policy.. Azure Application Gateway with a Web Application Firewall (WAF) policy is the correct choice because it operates at Layer 7 (HTTP/HTTPS) and provides centralized, inbound protection against common web attacks such as SQL injection and cross-site scripting (XSS). The WAF policy uses OWASP Core Rule Sets (CRS) to inspect HTTP request payloads and headers, blocking malicious traffic before it reaches the backend VMs behind the Load Balancer.

Answer

Azure Firewall.

Answer

Network Security Groups on the VM subnet.

Answer

Azure DDoS Protection.

Question 3

A security operations team uses Microsoft Sentinel. They want to create a custom analytics rule that detects when an Azure virtual machine is created with a public IP address that is not in an approved list. Which type of rule should they use?

Accepted Answer

Scheduled query rule. A scheduled query rule is the correct choice because it allows you to define a KQL query that runs on a recurring schedule (e.g., every 5 minutes) to detect when an Azure VM is created with a public IP not in an approved list. This rule type is designed for custom detection logic that requires periodic evaluation of log data, such as AzureActivity logs or Azure Resource Graph, making it ideal for this scenario.

Answer

NRT rule

Answer

Anomaly rule

Answer

Fusion rule

Question 4

A company has an Azure virtual network with two subnets: App and Data. The App subnet hosts web servers, and the Data subnet hosts SQL databases. Security policy requires that only HTTPS traffic from the App subnet is allowed to the Data subnet, and all other inbound traffic to the Data subnet must be blocked. The solution must use a single network security group (NSG) associated to the Data subnet. Which NSG inbound rule configuration meets the requirement?

Accepted Answer

Allow HTTPS from App subnet priority 100, then Deny All priority 200. NSG rules are evaluated in priority order, with lower numbers processed first. By placing the Allow HTTPS rule at priority 100, it matches and permits traffic from the App subnet to the Data subnet. The subsequent Deny All rule at priority 200 then blocks all other inbound traffic, satisfying the security policy with a single NSG on the Data subnet.

Answer

Deny All priority 100, then Allow HTTPS from App subnet priority 200

Answer

Allow HTTPS from App subnet priority 100, and Deny All from any source priority 100 (duplicate priority)

Answer

Allow HTTPS from App subnet priority 100, no other rules

Question 5

Your security team wants to use Microsoft Defender for Cloud's 'Just-In-Time (JIT) VM access' to reduce the attack surface. Which Azure policy must be enabled on the subscription to use JIT?

Accepted Answer

Microsoft Defender for Servers. Just-In-Time (JIT) VM access is a feature of Microsoft Defender for Cloud that requires the Microsoft Defender for Servers plan to be enabled on the subscription. This plan provides the advanced threat protection and access control capabilities, including JIT, which dynamically locks down inbound traffic to VMs and opens ports only when authorized users request access via Azure Policy or the portal.

Answer

Microsoft Defender for Databases

Answer

Microsoft Defender for Storage

Answer

Microsoft Defender for Key Vault

Question 6

A custom Azure role should allow operators to restart virtual machines but not delete them or change networking. Which permission design is most appropriate?

Accepted Answer

Create a custom role with Microsoft.Compute/virtualMachines/restart/action and required read permissions at the narrowest scope. It grants the specific 'restart/action' permission on virtual machines while excluding destructive actions like delete or network changes. Custom roles in Azure RBAC allow fine-grained control by including only the required data actions and read permissions, ensuring operators can restart VMs without the ability to delete them or modify networking.

Answer

Assign Contributor at the resource group scope

Answer

Assign Virtual Machine Contributor at subscription scope

Answer

Assign Reader and ask operators to use Run Command

Question 7

Your company uses Microsoft Defender for Cloud to protect Azure resources. You want to enable the 'Defender for Containers' plan to secure AKS clusters. Which two configurations are necessary? (Choose two.)

Accepted Answer

Enable the 'Defender for Containers' plan in Microsoft Defender for Cloud.. Enabling the 'Defender for Containers' plan in Microsoft Defender for Cloud is the primary configuration required to activate threat detection and security monitoring for AKS clusters. Option E is correct because audit logs must be enabled and streamed to a Log Analytics workspace to provide the necessary data for Defender for Containers to analyze Kubernetes audit events and detect suspicious activities.

Answer

Assign the 'Kubernetes cluster should be accessible only through private endpoint' Azure Policy.

Answer

Connect the AKS cluster to Azure Arc.

Answer

Install the Log Analytics agent on each AKS node.

Question 8

You are the identity security engineer for a multinational company that uses Microsoft Entra ID. The company has recently experienced a security breach where an attacker compromised a non-administrator user account and then used that account to enumerate all users in the tenant. The attacker then attempted to brute-force passwords for high-privilege accounts. To prevent such attacks, management requires the following:

- Users with administrative roles must use phishing-resistant MFA.
- Any sign-in from a risky IP address must be blocked.
- Users must not be able to enumerate directory information via the Graph API unless they have a specific role.
- The solution should be implemented using built-in Microsoft Entra ID features.

What should you configure?

Accepted Answer

Configure Conditional Access policy with authentication strength for admins requiring phishing-resistant MFA. Configure Identity Protection sign-in risk policy to block risky sign-ins. Restrict access to the Graph API by requiring a specific role assignment.. Phishing-resistant MFA can be enforced via Conditional Access with authentication strength. Sign-in risk policies in Identity Protection can block sign-ins from risky IPs. To prevent directory enumeration, you can restrict access to the Graph API by requiring a specific role assignment. Option A is wrong because Security defaults enforce MFA but do not block all enumeration. Option C is wrong because PIM does not block enumeration. Option D is wrong because access reviews do not block enumeration.

Answer

Enable Security defaults and configure Identity Protection user risk policy to block high-risk users.

Answer

Configure Conditional Access policy for admins to require phishing-resistant MFA. Use PIM to require approval. Enable Identity Protection sign-in risk policy.

Answer

Configure PIM for all admin roles. Create access reviews for all users. Enable Identity Protection to detect risky sign-ins.

Question 9

Refer to the exhibit. This is an excerpt from an Azure Policy assignment. What is the effect of the 'notScopes' property?

Accepted Answer

The policy will apply to all resources in RG-Prod except the VM-Sensitive virtual machine.. 'notScopes' excludes specific sub-scopes from the policy assignment. In this case, the policy applies to all resources in 'RG-Prod' except the VM named 'VM-Sensitive'. Option A is wrong because 'notScopes' do not add resources. Option B is wrong because it does not remove the entire resource group. Option D is wrong because it does not affect subscription-level exclusions.

Answer

The policy will apply only to the VM-Sensitive virtual machine.

Answer

The policy will apply to all resources in RG-Prod except the entire resource group.

Answer

The policy will apply to the subscription but not to RG-Prod.

Question 10

Which TWO Azure services can be used to filter inbound internet traffic to a virtual network? (Choose two.)

Accepted Answer

Azure Firewall. Both Azure Firewall and Network Security Groups (NSGs) can filter inbound internet traffic to a virtual network. Azure Firewall provides centralized, stateful filtering at Layers 3-7 with features like threat intelligence and application rules. NSGs are distributed, stateful packet filters that apply to subnets or NICs, filtering traffic based on source/destination IP, port, and protocol rules, and are commonly used to block inbound internet traffic at the subnet boundary.

Answer

Azure Bastion

Answer

Azure Front Door

Answer

VPN gateway

Question 11

A security team uses Microsoft Defender for Cloud to monitor the security posture of their Azure environment. They want to ensure that the Log Analytics agent is automatically installed on all new Azure virtual machines as soon as they are provisioned, to collect security logs. Which feature should they enable in Defender for Cloud?

Accepted Answer

Auto-provisioning of the Log Analytics agent in Defender for Cloud's environment settings.. Defender for Cloud's auto-provisioning feature is specifically designed to automatically install the Log Analytics agent on all existing and new Azure VMs to collect security logs. When enabled in the environment settings, it ensures that any new VM provisioned in the subscription gets the agent installed without manual intervention, directly addressing the requirement for automatic installation on new VMs.

Answer

Data Collection Rules (DCR) in Azure Monitor.

Answer

Azure Policy 'Deploy Log Analytics agent for Linux/Windows VM'.

Answer

Use Azure Automation State Configuration.

Question 12

Your company uses Azure Files shares to store business documents. You need to ensure that access to the shares is restricted to users who have been granted explicit permissions. What should you configure?

Accepted Answer

Enable identity-based authentication for Azure Files using Microsoft Entra ID and set share-level permissions.. Identity-based authentication for Azure Files using Microsoft Entra ID allows you to assign share-level permissions (e.g., Storage File Data SMB Share Contributor) to specific users or groups, ensuring only explicitly authorized identities can access the share. This meets the requirement of restricting access to users with explicit permissions, as opposed to relying on network rules or shared keys.

Answer

Configure a firewall rule to allow only corporate IP ranges.

Answer

Use storage account access keys to mount the file share.

Answer

Generate a shared access signature (SAS) with read permissions.

Question 13

A company has deployed Azure Firewall in a hub virtual network with forced tunneling enabled. Spoke virtual networks are peered to the hub. The security team reports that outbound traffic from the spoke VMs is bypassing the firewall. What is the most likely reason?

Accepted Answer

The spoke subnets do not have a route table with a default route (0.0.0.0/0) pointing to the Azure Firewall.. Forced tunneling on Azure Firewall requires that all outbound traffic from spoke VMs is routed to the firewall via a user-defined route (UDR) with a default route (0.0.0.0/0) pointing to the firewall's private IP as the next hop. Without this route, traffic from spoke subnets will use the default system route and bypass the firewall, even if the firewall itself is configured with forced tunneling.

Answer

The Azure Firewall policy has an allow-all network rule.

Answer

Azure Firewall is deployed in the same virtual network as the spoke VMs.

Answer

The spoke virtual networks are not peered to the hub.

Question 14

Which TWO actions can be performed using Microsoft Defender for Cloud's 'Regulatory Compliance' dashboard?

Accepted Answer

Upload evidence documents for manual controls.. Options A and C are correct. The Regulatory Compliance dashboard in Microsoft Defender for Cloud displays compliance scores against specific regulatory standards and allows uploading evidence documents for manual controls. Option B is incorrect because automatic remediation of non-compliant resources is handled through Azure Policy, not directly from the compliance dashboard. Option D is incorrect because continuous export of compliance data is configured in the continuous export settings, not from the dashboard. Option E is incorrect because direct integration with third-party GRC tools is not available from the dashboard.

Answer

Automatically remediate non-compliant resources.

Answer

Configure continuous export of compliance data.

Answer

Integrate with third-party GRC tools directly from the dashboard.

Question 15

A security operations team uses Microsoft Sentinel. They want to create an automation that automatically changes the severity of an incident from 'Medium' to 'High' when a specific indicator of compromise (IOC) is observed in the incident's entities. The playbook should run immediately when the incident is created. Which type of automation rule trigger should they configure?

Accepted Answer

When incident is created. The requirement specifies that the automation should run immediately when the incident is created. In Microsoft Sentinel, an automation rule with the trigger 'When incident is created' executes a playbook as soon as the incident is generated, before any updates occur. This allows the playbook to evaluate the incident's entities (e.g., IP addresses, hashes) and change the severity from 'Medium' to 'High' if a specific IOC is present, meeting the real-time response need.

Answer

When incident is updated

Answer

When alert is generated

Answer

Scheduled

Question 16

An analyst investigates a Defender for Cloud alert for suspicious process execution on a VM. Which next step best preserves evidence while enabling deeper endpoint investigation?

Accepted Answer

Pivot to Microsoft Defender for Endpoint device timeline and isolate the device if containment is required. Pivoting to the Microsoft Defender for Endpoint device timeline allows the analyst to investigate the suspicious process execution in a forensically sound manner without disrupting the live environment. Isolating the device from the network, if needed, contains the threat while preserving volatile evidence such as running processes, memory, and registry state. This approach aligns with incident response best practices and leverages Defender for Endpoint's deep endpoint visibility.

Answer

Delete the VM immediately to stop the process

Answer

Disable all analytics rules in Sentinel

Answer

Rotate every subscription key before reviewing the process tree

Question 17

You need to protect Azure SQL Database from SQL injection attacks. Which TWO measures should you implement?

Accepted Answer

Implement Azure Web Application Firewall (WAF). Azure Web Application Firewall (WAF) can inspect incoming HTTP/HTTPS traffic and block malicious payloads, including SQL injection attempts, before they reach the application or database. It provides a perimeter defense that filters out common attack patterns, reducing the attack surface for SQL injection.

Answer

Enable Transparent Data Encryption (TDE)

Answer

Configure Azure SQL Database firewall rules

Answer

Enable Always Encrypted for sensitive columns

Question 18

You are designing a network security strategy for an Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS) cluster. You need to restrict egress traffic from the cluster to only allow connections to specific Azure services (e.g., Microsoft Container Registry, Azure Key Vault). The solution must minimize administrative overhead. What should you use?

Accepted Answer

Deploy Azure Firewall and use FQDN tags to allow traffic to Azure services.. Azure Firewall with FQDN tags allows you to define outbound network rules based on fully qualified domain names (FQDNs) for Azure services like Microsoft Container Registry and Azure Key Vault. This approach minimizes administrative overhead because FQDN tags are automatically updated as Azure service IP ranges change, eliminating the need for manual IP maintenance. It provides a centralized, managed firewall solution that integrates natively with AKS for egress filtering.

Answer

Configure Azure Policy to deny egress to non-approved destinations.

Answer

Use Kubernetes network policies for egress.

Answer

Define NSG rules to allow outbound traffic to the service IP ranges.

Question 19

You need to securely connect an on-premises network to Azure over the internet with encrypted traffic. The connection must be site-to-site and use IPsec. Which Azure service should you use?

Accepted Answer

Azure VPN Gateway. Azure VPN Gateway supports site-to-site (S2S) VPN connections over the internet using IPsec/IKE (IKEv1 or IKEv2) to encrypt traffic between an on-premises VPN device and Azure. This matches the requirement for an encrypted, internet-based site-to-site connection. ExpressRoute bypasses the internet entirely, Virtual WAN is a higher-level orchestration service that still relies on VPN Gateway for S2S IPsec, and Bastion is for RDP/SSH access to VMs without public IPs.

Answer

Azure ExpressRoute

Answer

Azure Virtual WAN

Answer

Azure Bastion

Question 20

Your company uses Azure SQL Database and wants to protect sensitive data stored in a column named 'CreditCardNumber'. You need to ensure that the data is encrypted at rest and that only authorized users can decrypt the data at the application layer. Additionally, you want to prevent unauthorized administrators from accessing the plaintext. Which solution should you implement?

Accepted Answer

Implement Always Encrypted and store the column encryption key in Azure Key Vault. Always Encrypted ensures that sensitive data, such as credit card numbers, is encrypted at rest and remains encrypted throughout its lifecycle, including during query processing. By storing the column encryption key in Azure Key Vault, you separate key management from the database, preventing even database administrators from accessing plaintext data. Only authorized applications with access to the key can decrypt the data at the application layer, meeting all stated requirements.

Answer

Enable Transparent Data Encryption (TDE) and store the encryption key in Azure Key Vault

Answer

Use Dynamic Data Masking to mask the credit card column for non-privileged users

Answer

Implement Azure SQL Database's Always Encrypted with enclaves