MS-102 Manage security and threats by using Microsoft Defender XDR Practice Test 17 — 15 Questions

Question 1

A security analyst wants to create a custom detection rule that triggers when a device communicates with a new, unclassified IP address that has been flagged by Microsoft threat intelligence as potentially malicious. The rule should run every hour and create an incident if more than 5 such communications from the same device occur within a 24-hour window. Which advanced hunting tables should be joined in the KQL query for this rule?

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

Accepted Answer

DeviceNetworkEvents and IPReputation. The rule requires detecting network communications to potentially malicious IP addresses, which involves joining `DeviceNetworkEvents` (which logs network connections from devices) with `IPReputation` (which contains Microsoft's threat intelligence classifications for IP addresses). This join allows the query to filter for communications where the destination IP is flagged as malicious and then aggregate by device to trigger an incident when the count exceeds 5 within a 24-hour window.

Answer

DeviceProcessEvents and AlertInfo

Answer

DeviceFileEvents and DeviceIPInfo

Answer

EmailEvents and DeviceNetworkEvents

Question 2

A security administrator needs to create an automated investigation and response (AIR) playbook that automatically isolates a device whenever a high-severity alert from Microsoft Defender for Endpoint is generated. The playbook should run without requiring manual approval. Which capability in Microsoft 365 Defender should the administrator configure?

Accepted Answer

Automated investigation and response (AIR) action policy. Automated Investigation and Response (AIR) action policies in Microsoft 365 Defender allow administrators to define automated remediation actions—such as device isolation—that execute automatically when specific alert conditions are met, without requiring manual approval. The policy can be configured to trigger on high-severity alerts from Microsoft Defender for Endpoint, enabling fully automated containment of compromised devices.

Answer

Custom detection rule

Answer

Threat analytics

Answer

Attack simulation training

Question 3

A security administrator wants to configure Automated Investigation and Response (AIR) in Microsoft 365 Defender to automatically isolate a device when a high-severity alert for malware is detected. Which step is required?

Accepted Answer

C: Configure the device to be part of a device group and enable automation level.. To enable Automated Investigation and Response (AIR) in Microsoft Defender for Endpoint, the device must be added to a device group, and the automation level for that group must be set to 'Full – remediate threats automatically' or a similar level. This configuration allows Defender to automatically isolate a device when a high-severity malware alert is triggered, as part of the built-in AIR playbooks.

Answer

A: Create an automation rule in Microsoft Sentinel.

Answer

B: Create a custom detection rule in advanced hunting.

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D: Enable auto-removal of malware from devices.

Question 4

A user receives an email from an unknown sender with a .zip attachment. The attachment contains a potentially malicious executable file. Microsoft Defender for Office 365 is enabled. Which feature dynamically detonates the attachment in a sandbox environment and blocks it if malicious behavior is detected?

Accepted Answer

Safe Attachments. Safe Attachments is the correct feature because it specifically detonates email attachments in a dynamic sandbox environment, analyzing behavior in real time. If the .zip file contains a malicious executable, Safe Attachments will block the email before delivery, preventing the user from accessing the threat. This is distinct from other Defender for Office 365 features that focus on URLs, phishing content, or spam filtering.

Answer

Safe Links

Answer

Anti-phishing

Answer

Anti-spam

Question 5

A security administrator wants to detect unusual user activity, such as a user downloading an abnormally large number of files from SharePoint Online in a short period. Which Microsoft Defender for Cloud Apps feature should be used to create a policy for this behavior?

Accepted Answer

Anomaly detection policy. Microsoft Defender for Cloud Apps uses anomaly detection policies to identify unusual user behavior, such as a user downloading an abnormally large number of files from SharePoint Online in a short period. These policies leverage machine learning to establish a baseline of normal activity and then trigger alerts when deviations occur, like a spike in download volume or rate.

Answer

Cloud Discovery

Answer

Conditional Access App Control

Answer

App permissions

Question 6

A security administrator wants to block executable files from running from writable system directories such as %TEMP% and %APPDATA% on Windows devices. Which attack surface reduction (ASR) rule should be enabled?

Accepted Answer

Block executable files from running unless they meet a prevalence, age, or trusted list criterion.. The ASR rule 'Block executable files from running unless they meet a prevalence, age, or trusted list criterion' (GUID: 01443614-cd74-433a-b99e-2ecdc07bfc25) is designed specifically to block executables (e.g., .exe, .dll, .scr) from running from writable locations like %TEMP% and %APPDATA% unless they have sufficient global prevalence, are older than a certain age, or are on a trusted list. This directly addresses the administrator's requirement to prevent untrusted executables from executing from these directories.

Answer

Block Office communication application from creating child processes.

Answer

Block credential stealing from the Windows local security authority subsystem (lsass.exe).

Answer

Block executable content from email client and webmail.

Question 7

A security administrator needs to block outbound network connections from a compromised Windows device to a known malicious IP address. The solution should be configured in Microsoft Defender for Endpoint and must work at the network layer, not relying on a user-installed client. Which feature should the administrator enable?

Accepted Answer

Network protection. Network protection, is correct because it is a Microsoft Defender for Endpoint feature that blocks outbound connections to malicious IP addresses and domains at the network layer, using the Windows Filtering Platform (WFP) to enforce policies without requiring a user-installed client. This ensures the block applies system-wide, even if the device is compromised, as it operates before the TCP/IP stack processes the connection.

Answer

Attack surface reduction (ASR) rules

Answer

Custom detection rules (advanced hunting)

Answer

Web protection (web threat protection)

Question 8

An administrator wants to configure automated investigation and response (AIR) in Microsoft 365 Defender so that when a high-severity malware alert is generated for a device from Microsoft Defender for Endpoint, the device is automatically isolated from the network without requiring a security analyst to approve the action. Which configuration step is required?

Accepted Answer

Set the automation level for device isolation to 'Full - remediate threats automatically'. Setting the automation level for device isolation to 'Full - remediate threats automatically' in Microsoft Defender for Endpoint's automated investigation and response (AIR) configuration allows the system to automatically isolate a device when a high-severity malware alert is triggered, without requiring analyst approval. This automation level is specifically designed to execute remediation actions like device isolation immediately based on the alert's severity and the device's risk level.

Answer

Set the automation level for device isolation to 'Semi - require approval for any remediation'

Answer

Create a custom detection rule that automatically isolates the device

Answer

Enable 'Automated device isolation' in the Microsoft 365 Defender settings

Question 9

A security administrator needs to block executable files from running from the %TEMP% folder on Windows devices to prevent common malware execution. Which attack surface reduction (ASR) rule should be enabled?

Accepted Answer

Block executable files from running unless they meet a prevalence, age, or trusted list criteria. The ASR rule 'Block executable files from running unless they meet a prevalence, age, or trusted list criteria' (GUID: 01443614-cd74-433a-b99e-2ecdc07bfc25) specifically targets executables launched from locations commonly used by malware, such as the %TEMP% folder. This rule uses cloud-delivered reputation data to allow only executables that are prevalent, have sufficient age, or are on a trusted list, effectively blocking unknown or suspicious binaries from running in temporary directories.

Answer

Block credential stealing from the Windows local security authority subsystem

Answer

Block all Office applications from creating child processes

Answer

Block JavaScript or VBScript from launching downloaded executable content

Question 10

A security administrator wants to monitor and control user downloads from a third-party SaaS application (e.g., Box) in real time. The administrator needs to apply session-level policies to block downloads based on risk. Which Microsoft 365 Defender feature should be used?

Accepted Answer

Conditional Access App Control. Conditional Access App Control (CAAC) is the correct feature because it enables real-time session-level monitoring and control of user activities within third-party SaaS applications like Box. By integrating with Microsoft Defender for Cloud Apps, CAAC can apply policies to block downloads based on risk signals such as user location, device compliance, or anomalous behavior, all within the user's active session.

Answer

Cloud Discovery

Answer

App Connectors

Answer

Anomaly Detection Policies

Question 11

A security administrator needs to block outbound network connections from a compromised Windows device to command-and-control servers. The solution must work at the network layer and be centrally managed via Microsoft 365 Defender. Which feature should the administrator enable?

Accepted Answer

Network Protection. Network Protection in Microsoft Defender for Endpoint blocks outbound connections to command-and-control (C2) servers at the network layer by inspecting traffic using the Windows Filtering Platform (WFP). It is centrally managed via Microsoft 365 Defender policies and does not require per-device firewall rule configuration, making it the correct choice for this scenario.

Answer

Attack Surface Reduction rules

Answer

Session control in Defender for Cloud Apps

Answer

Windows Firewall with Advanced Security

Question 12

A security analyst wants to automatically create a Microsoft Teams message in a dedicated security channel whenever a Microsoft 365 Defender incident with severity 'High' is created. Which automation approach should the analyst use?

Accepted Answer

Power Automate. Power Automate is the correct choice because it provides a no-code/low-code workflow that can be triggered by Microsoft 365 Defender's 'When an incident is created or updated' connector, filter for severity 'High', and then post a message to a dedicated Teams channel via the 'Post a message in a chat or channel' action. This directly meets the requirement for automatic, event-driven notification without custom code.

Answer

Automation rules in Defender

Answer

Microsoft Graph API

Answer

Action Center

Question 13

A security analyst wants to create a custom detection rule that triggers when a device communicates with a new, unclassified IP address that has been flagged by Microsoft threat intelligence as potentially malicious. The rule should run every hour and create an incident if more than 5 such communications from the same device occur within a 24-hour window. Which advanced hunting tables should be joined in the KQL query for this rule?

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

Accepted Answer

DeviceProcessEvents and DeviceNetworkEvents. The detection rule requires correlating a PowerShell process event with an outbound network connection to a known malicious IP within 5 minutes. The correct approach is to join DeviceProcessEvents (for process details) with DeviceNetworkEvents (for network connections) on device ID and timestamp within the time window. Option C is incorrect because DeviceEvents does not reliably contain network connection data; it is intended for other event types. Option B is incorrect because EmailEvents is for email events, not endpoint process or network data. Option D is incorrect because IdentityLogonEvents covers authentication events, not process or network activities.

Answer

EmailEvents and DeviceNetworkEvents

Answer

DeviceEvents and DeviceProcessEvents

Answer

IdentityLogonEvents and DeviceNetworkEvents

Question 14

A security administrator wants to prevent Microsoft Office applications (Word, Excel, PowerPoint) from creating child processes, which is a common technique used by malware to execute malicious code. Which attack surface reduction (ASR) rule should be enabled?

Accepted Answer

Block all Office applications from creating child processes. The ASR rule 'Block all Office applications from creating child processes' (GUID: D4F940AB-401B-4EFC-AADC-AD5F3C50688A) specifically prevents Word, Excel, and PowerPoint from spawning child processes such as cmd.exe, PowerShell, or wscript.exe. This directly mitigates a common malware technique where Office macros or exploits launch malicious executables. The rule is part of Microsoft Defender for Endpoint's attack surface reduction capabilities and is designed to stop process injection and lateral movement without blocking legitimate Office functionality.

Answer

Block executable files from running unless they meet a prevalence, age, or trusted list criteria

Answer

Block Office applications from creating executable content

Answer

Block Win32 API calls from Office macros

Question 15

A security administrator wants to block users from uploading files to personal cloud storage apps (e.g., Dropbox) from managed Windows devices, while allowing access from compliant mobile devices. Which Microsoft 365 Defender feature should be used?

Accepted Answer

Microsoft Defender for Cloud Apps session policy. Microsoft Defender for Cloud Apps session policies use reverse proxy architecture to monitor and control user activities in real time. By configuring a session policy with the 'Block' action for the 'Upload file' activity on managed Windows devices, the administrator can prevent file uploads to personal cloud storage apps like Dropbox. Conditional Access App Control enforces this policy based on device compliance, allowing compliant mobile devices to bypass the block.

Answer

Microsoft Defender for Endpoint Attack Surface Reduction rules

Answer

Microsoft Defender for Office 365 Safe Attachments

Answer

Microsoft Defender for Identity