AZ-400 Develop a security and compliance plan Practice Question
This AZ-400 practice question tests your understanding of develop a security and compliance plan. This is a configuration task: choose the command set that satisfies every stated requirement. Small differences — like 'secret' vs 'password' or 'transport input ssh' vs 'all' — change whether the answer is correct. After answering, compare your reasoning against the explanation and wrong-answer breakdown below. Once you have made your selection, read the full explanation to reinforce the concept and understand why each distractor is designed to mislead on exam day.
Your organization uses Azure DevOps with multiple teams. You are tasked with creating a security and compliance plan. The environment includes: Azure Repos for source control, Azure Pipelines for CI/CD, and Azure Artifacts for package management. Requirements: 1) All code changes to the main branch must be reviewed by at least one member of the security team. 2) Deployment to production requires approval from a manager. 3) Secrets must be stored securely and rotated every 90 days. 4) Pipeline logs must be retained for 1 year for audit purposes. You have configured branch policies requiring a minimum number of reviewers and mandatory security team review. For production deployments, you have added a manual approval gate. Secrets are stored in Azure Key Vault with automatic rotation. However, the audit team reports that pipeline logs are only retained for 30 days. You need to extend log retention to 1 year. What should you do?
Clue words in this question
Noticing these words before you look at the options changes how you read each choice.
Clue: "least"
Why it matters: You want the option with minimum overhead, fewest steps, or lowest impact — not the most feature-rich or comprehensive answer.
Clue: "minimum / minimize"
Why it matters: Asks for the least resource use — fewest addresses, smallest subnet, lowest overhead. Eliminate over-provisioned options even if they would technically work.
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
In Azure DevOps project settings, navigate to Pipelines > Retention and releases, and set the retention policy to 365 days.
Option B is correct because Azure DevOps pipeline log retention is configured in the project settings under 'Pipelines' > 'Retention and releases'. Option A is wrong because Azure Monitor is for Azure resources, not DevOps logs. Option C is wrong because Azure Storage does not directly store pipeline logs. Option D is wrong because audit logs are separate from pipeline logs.
Key principle: Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
✗
Export pipeline logs to Azure Blob Storage and set a lifecycle policy to retain for 365 days.
Why it's wrong here
Pipeline logs are not automatically exported to Blob Storage.
✗
Configure diagnostic settings in Azure Monitor to stream pipeline logs to a Log Analytics workspace.
Why it's wrong here
Azure Monitor does not capture Azure DevOps pipeline logs.
✓
In Azure DevOps project settings, navigate to Pipelines > Retention and releases, and set the retention policy to 365 days.
Why this is correct
This directly controls pipeline log retention.
Clue confirmation
The clue words "least", "minimum / minimize" in the question point toward this answer.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
✗
Enable Azure DevOps audit logs and export them to a Log Analytics workspace with a 365-day retention.
Why it's wrong here
Audit logs are different from pipeline logs.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
Many certification questions include familiar terms but test a specific constraint. Read the exact wording before choosing an answer that is generally true but wrong for this case.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
This question should be treated as a scenario, not a definition check. Identify the problem, the constraint and the best action. Then compare each option against those facts.
KKey Concepts to Remember
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
Find the constraint that changes the correct option.
Eliminate answers that are true in general but not in this case.
Use explanations to understand the rule behind the answer.
TExam Day Tips
→Underline the problem statement mentally.
→Watch for words such as best, first, most likely and least administrative effort.
→Review why wrong options are wrong, not only why the correct option is correct.
Key takeaway
Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Real-world example
How this comes up in practice
A media company stores terabytes of video archives that are accessed once a year for audit purposes. Moving these objects to a cold storage tier (Azure Archive, S3 Glacier, or Google Nearline) costs a fraction of hot storage. Questions like this test whether you understand storage tiers, access frequency tradeoffs, and retrieval latency requirements.
Related glossary terms
Concepts from this question explained
These glossary pages explain the core terms tested in this AZ-400 question in full detail.
Identify which AZ-400 exam domain this question belongs to, then review the specific concept being tested. Practise related questions in that domain and focus on understanding why each wrong answer is tempting — not just why the correct answer is right.
Develop a security and compliance plan — This question tests Develop a security and compliance plan — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: In Azure DevOps project settings, navigate to Pipelines > Retention and releases, and set the retention policy to 365 days. — Option B is correct because Azure DevOps pipeline log retention is configured in the project settings under 'Pipelines' > 'Retention and releases'. Option A is wrong because Azure Monitor is for Azure resources, not DevOps logs. Option C is wrong because Azure Storage does not directly store pipeline logs. Option D is wrong because audit logs are separate from pipeline logs.
What should I do if I get this AZ-400 question wrong?
Identify which AZ-400 exam domain this question belongs to, then review the specific concept being tested. Practise related questions in that domain and focus on understanding why each wrong answer is tempting — not just why the correct answer is right.
Are there clue words in this question I should notice?
Yes — watch for: "least", "minimum / minimize". You want the option with minimum overhead, fewest steps, or lowest impact — not the most feature-rich or comprehensive answer.
What is the key concept behind this question?
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
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