Email Delivery to Link Click Correlation
A security analyst wants to create a custom detection rule in Microsoft Defender XDR that triggers when a user receives a phishing email (delivered to inbox) and later clicks a link from that email that leads to a known malicious domain. The rule will be based on an advanced hunting query. Which two tables should the analyst join in the query to capture both the email delivery event and the link click event? (Choose two.)
Quick Answer
The answer is EmailEvents and UrlClickEvents. This is correct because EmailEvents logs every email delivery event, including phishing messages that reach the inbox, while UrlClickEvents records each time a user clicks a link within an email, capturing the target domain. By joining these two tables on the network message ID, you can directly correlate the specific email delivery to the subsequent link click, enabling the email delivery to link click correlation that the custom detection rule requires. On the MS-102 exam, this tests your ability to build advanced hunting queries in Microsoft Defender XDR, a key skill for security analysts; a common trap is confusing UrlClickEvents with EmailUrlInfo, which only lists URLs in emails without recording actual clicks. Remember the mnemonic “Delivered then Clicked” — EmailEvents for the delivery, UrlClickEvents for the click — and you’ll always join the right pair.
⚠ Common exam trap
A common mix-up: candidates confuse UrlClickEvents with DeviceEvents, thinking that a link click is a device-level action, but in Microsoft Defender XDR, URL clicks from emails are specifically tracked in the UrlClickEvents table, not in endpoint event tables.
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
✓
EmailEvents
EmailEvents contains records of email delivery events, including phishing emails that were delivered to the inbox. UrlClickEvents captures user clicks on URLs in emails, including the target domain. Joining these two tables on the email's network message ID allows the analyst to correlate the specific phishing email delivery with the subsequent link click to a known malicious domain, which is the exact scenario described.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✓
EmailEvents
Why this is correct
This table contains details of email delivery events, including whether the email was delivered to the inbox, and the unique NetworkMessageId that can link to click events.
- ✓
UrlClickEvents
Why this is correct
This table records user clicks on URLs within emails, including the target URL and the user who clicked. Joining with EmailEvents identifies which email led to the click.
- ✗
DeviceEvents
Why it's wrong here
DeviceEvents logs process and security events on endpoints, but does not directly capture email link clicks. It is not used in an email click detection scenario.
- ✗
IdentityLogonEvents
Why it's wrong here
This table tracks user authentication events and is not relevant to email events or link clicks.
Go deeper
Related to this question
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Microsoft 365 Tenant Setup
Key term
XDR
XDR, or Extended Detection and Response, is a unified security platform that collects and correlates data across multiple security layers—endpoints, networks, servers, cloud workloads, and email—to improve threat detection and enable faster response.
Key term
Security
Security in IT is the practice of protecting systems, networks, and data from unauthorized access, damage, or theft.
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Same concept, more angles
2 more ways this is tested on MS-102
These questions test the same concept from different angles. Work through them to make sure you can recognise it however the exam phrases it.
Variation 1. A security analyst wants to create a custom detection rule in Microsoft 365 Defender Advanced Hunting that alerts when a user receives a phishing email and clicks a malicious link within 10 minutes. Which two tables must be joined in the KQL query?
easy- ✓ A.EmailEvents and UrlClickEvents
- B.EmailEvents and DeviceEvents
- C.EmailAttachmentInfo and UrlClickEvents
- D.EmailPostDeliveryEvents and DeviceNetworkEvents
Why A: To detect a user receiving a phishing email and clicking a malicious link within 10 minutes, the correct table combination is EmailEvents and UrlClickEvents (Option A). These tables can be joined on NetworkMessageId to correlate the email delivery timestamp with the click timestamp. Option B (EmailEvents and DeviceEvents) is not appropriate because DeviceEvents logs system-level events like process creation and does not record URL clicks directly. While DeviceEvents might indicate user activity after email receipt, it does not provide direct evidence of a click on a specific URL. Therefore, only Option A meets the requirement of detecting the click event itself.
Variation 2. A security analyst wants to create a custom detection rule that triggers when a user receives a phishing email that bypassed Exchange Online Protection, and then clicks a link that leads to a known malicious domain. Which two advanced hunting tables should the analyst combine to detect this chain of events?
hard- A.EmailEvents and DeviceNetworkEvents
- ✓ B.EmailEvents and UrlClickEvents
- C.EmailEvents and IdentityLogonEvents
- D.UrlClickEvents and DeviceNetworkEvents
Why B: Combining EmailEvents (which captures email delivery) with UrlClickEvents (which records user clicks on URLs in emails) allows the analyst to identify the specific chain: a user received a phishing email and then clicked a link. This pair directly links the email receipt to the user's click action. Option D is incorrect because while UrlClickEvents and DeviceNetworkEvents can correlate a click to a network connection, they do not include the email receipt event (EmailEvents), which is essential to detect the full chain described: receiving a phishing email and then clicking a link. Without EmailEvents, there is no evidence that the click originated from an email.
JA
Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
This MS-102 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 MS-102 exam.