- A
Microsoft Purview Audit (Standard)
Correct. Audit (Standard) records admin and user activities with 90-day retention and supports custom alert rules via the Microsoft Purview compliance portal.
- B
Microsoft Purview Audit (Premium)
Why wrong: Incorrect. Audit (Premium) provides longer retention and more API access, but is more expensive than needed for just 90-day retention and basic alerts.
- C
Microsoft Entra ID sign-in logs
Why wrong: Incorrect. These logs focus on user sign-ins, not admin actions like creating accounts or resetting passwords, and they have a different retention and alerting model.
- D
Microsoft Defender for Cloud Apps
Why wrong: Incorrect. This solution is for identifying and managing cloud app usage (shadow IT), not for auditing admin actions within Microsoft 365.
MS-900 Practice Question: Describe security, compliance, privacy, and trust in Microsoft 365
This MS-900 practice question tests your understanding of describe security, compliance, privacy, and trust in microsoft 365. Read the scenario carefully and evaluate each option against the stated constraints before committing to an answer. A key principle to apply: microsoft Purview Audit (Standard) records admin and user activities across Microsoft 365 services.. 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.
A security team needs to ensure that all Microsoft 365 administrative actions—such as creating user accounts or resetting passwords—are logged and searchable for at least 90 days. They also need to create custom alert rules for suspicious admin activity. Which Microsoft Purview solution should they use?
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.
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
Microsoft Purview Audit (Standard)
Microsoft Purview Audit (Standard) logs and retains all administrative actions (e.g., creating users, resetting passwords) for 90 days by default, meeting the retention requirement. It also supports creating custom alert rules for suspicious admin activity via the Microsoft 365 Defender portal, which queries the audit log. This makes it the correct solution for both logging and alerting on admin actions.
Key principle: Microsoft Purview Audit (Standard) records admin and user activities across Microsoft 365 services.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✓
Microsoft Purview Audit (Standard)
Why this is correct
Correct. Audit (Standard) records admin and user activities with 90-day retention and supports custom alert rules via the Microsoft Purview compliance portal.
Clue confirmation
The clue word "least" in the question point toward this answer.
Related concept
Microsoft Purview Audit (Standard) records admin and user activities across Microsoft 365 services.
- ✗
Microsoft Purview Audit (Premium)
Why it's wrong here
Incorrect. Audit (Premium) provides longer retention and more API access, but is more expensive than needed for just 90-day retention and basic alerts.
- ✗
Microsoft Entra ID sign-in logs
Why it's wrong here
Incorrect. These logs focus on user sign-ins, not admin actions like creating accounts or resetting passwords, and they have a different retention and alerting model.
- ✗
Microsoft Defender for Cloud Apps
Why it's wrong here
Incorrect. This solution is for identifying and managing cloud app usage (shadow IT), not for auditing admin actions within Microsoft 365.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is that candidates often confuse Audit (Premium) as mandatory for any alerting or retention beyond 30 days, but the question's 90-day requirement is exactly met by Audit (Standard), and Premium is only needed for longer retention or specific high-value events.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
Under the hood, Microsoft Purview Audit (Standard) uses the Unified Audit Log (UAL) to record operations from Exchange Online, SharePoint Online, Azure AD, and other workloads. The 90-day retention is fixed for Standard, while Premium adds 1-year retention and access to events like SearchQueryInitiatedExchange. Custom alert rules are defined via the Microsoft 365 Defender portal's 'Alert policies' section, which queries the UAL using the Office 365 Management Activity API, allowing real-time detection of suspicious admin behavior.
KKey Concepts to Remember
- Microsoft Purview Audit (Standard) records admin and user activities across Microsoft 365 services.
- It provides a default 90-day retention period for audit logs.
- Audit (Standard) logs are searchable via the Microsoft Purview compliance portal.
- It supports creating custom alert rules for specific audit events.
TExam Day Tips
- 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
Microsoft Purview Audit (Standard) records admin and user activities across Microsoft 365 services.
Real-world example
How this comes up in practice
A cloud solutions architect for a retail company is evaluating services for a new workload. The correct answer here reflects best practice for the specific scenario described — not a general cloud recommendation. Microsoft Purview Audit (Standard) records admin and user activities across Microsoft 365 services. Cloud exam questions reward reading the constraint carefully: the same technology can be right or wrong depending on the use case.
What to study next
Got this wrong? Here's your next step.
Review microsoft Purview Audit (Standard) records admin and user activities across Microsoft 365 services., then practise related MS-900 questions on the same topic to reinforce the concept.
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FAQ
Questions learners often ask
What does this MS-900 question test?
Describe security, compliance, privacy, and trust in Microsoft 365 — This question tests Describe security, compliance, privacy, and trust in Microsoft 365 — Microsoft Purview Audit (Standard) records admin and user activities across Microsoft 365 services..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Microsoft Purview Audit (Standard) — Microsoft Purview Audit (Standard) logs and retains all administrative actions (e.g., creating users, resetting passwords) for 90 days by default, meeting the retention requirement. It also supports creating custom alert rules for suspicious admin activity via the Microsoft 365 Defender portal, which queries the audit log. This makes it the correct solution for both logging and alerting on admin actions.
What should I do if I get this MS-900 question wrong?
Review microsoft Purview Audit (Standard) records admin and user activities across Microsoft 365 services., then practise related MS-900 questions on the same topic to reinforce the concept.
Are there clue words in this question I should notice?
Yes — watch for: "least". 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?
Microsoft Purview Audit (Standard) records admin and user activities across Microsoft 365 services.
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Last reviewed: Jun 11, 2026
This MS-900 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-900 exam.
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