AZ-400 Configure processes and communications Practice Question
Your organization wants to enforce that all commits to the main branch are signed using GPG or S/MIME. Which GitHub feature should you enable?
⚠ Common exam trap
Watch out — candidates often confuse authentication (SSH keys) with commit signing (GPG/S/MIME), or assume that post-push API checks are equivalent to pre-merge enforcement.
Answer choices
Why each option matters
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Configure a branch protection rule that requires signed commits.
GitHub branch protection rules include a 'Require signed commits' setting that enforces all commits pushed to the protected branch must be signed with a verified GPG or S/MIME key. This ensures commit integrity and non-repudiation directly at the repository level, without requiring external scripts or API calls.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Use the GitHub API to check commit signatures after push.
Why it's wrong here
The GitHub API can only inspect commits after they exist on the remote, so it cannot block an unsigned commit at push time; it merely reports violations that have already occurred, making it a non-enforcing audit mechanism rather than a branch protection control.
- ✓
Configure a branch protection rule that requires signed commits.
Why this is correct
Branch protection rules are evaluated during the push, and requiring signed commits causes GitHub to reject any push containing commits without a valid verified signature, thereby enforcing the policy before the commit is accepted. This is a preventive control at the repository level.
- ✗
Enable the 'Include administrators' setting in branch protection.
Why it's wrong here
The 'Include administrators' option only removes admin exemptions from existing branch protection rules; it does not itself mandate commit signing, so without a rule requiring signatures it has no effect on whether commits must be signed.
- ✗
Require SSH key authentication for all users.
Why it's wrong here
SSH key authentication verifies the identity of the user pushing to the repository but does not cryptographically sign individual commits, so commits can still be pushed without a signature while the user's SSH key satisfies transport-level authentication.
Go deeper
Related to this question
Learn chapter
Managing Infrastructure as Code Using Azure
Key term
Repository
A repository is a central storage location where software packages, code, or configuration files are kept, managed, and distributed for use by IT systems.
Key term
Feature
A feature is a distinct unit of functionality that delivers value to the user, often managed and tracked throughout the software development lifecycle.
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JA
Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
This AZ-400 practice question is part of Courseiva's free Microsoft certification practice question bank. Courseiva provides original exam-style practice questions with explanations, topic-based practice, mock exams, readiness tracking, and study analytics to help learners prepare for the AZ-400 exam.