The answer is Azure AD Conditional Access policies, Microsoft Intune, and Azure AD device registration. These three components work together to enforce a Zero Trust identity strategy by ensuring only compliant and managed devices can access corporate resources. Intune defines the compliance policies—such as requiring encryption, a minimum OS version, or specific patch levels—while Azure AD device registration establishes a device’s identity and management status. Conditional Access policies then evaluate both the device’s compliance and registration state during authentication, blocking or granting access accordingly. On the Microsoft Cybersecurity Architect exam, this scenario tests your understanding of how device compliance integrates with identity-driven access control, often appearing as a multi-select question where a common trap is to include a standalone tool like Microsoft Defender for Endpoint instead of the core identity-device triad. Remember the mnemonic “ICR” for Intune, Conditional Access, and Registration—if any piece is missing, the Zero Trust identity loop is broken.
SC-100 Design a Zero Trust strategy and architecture Practice Question
This SC-100 practice question tests your understanding of design a zero trust strategy and architecture. Match the stated requirement to the specific cloud service, access model, or configuration option — many options are valid in isolation but not for this scenario. 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.
A company is implementing a Zero Trust identity strategy. They want to ensure that only compliant and managed devices can access corporate resources. Which THREE components should they include in their solution? (Choose three.)
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Microsoft Intune for device management and compliance policies
A is correct because Microsoft Intune provides device management and compliance policies that define the security posture required for managed devices, such as requiring encryption, a minimum OS version, or a specific patch level. These compliance policies are evaluated by Azure AD during authentication, ensuring only devices that meet the organization's security standards can access corporate resources.
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.
✓
Microsoft Intune for device management and compliance policies
Why this is correct
Intune manages device compliance and enforces policies.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
✓
Azure AD device registration
Why this is correct
Device registration in Azure AD is needed for device identity.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
✓
Azure AD Conditional Access policies
Why this is correct
Conditional Access can require compliant devices for access.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
✗
Azure AD Application Proxy
Why it's wrong here
Application Proxy is for publishing on-premises apps, not device compliance.
✗
Azure AD B2B collaboration
Why it's wrong here
B2B is for external user identities, not device management.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is that candidates may confuse Azure AD Application Proxy (a publishing tool) with a device compliance mechanism, or assume Azure AD B2B collaboration can enforce device management for external users, when in fact neither component evaluates device health or management status.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
Under the hood, Intune compliance policies are evaluated by the Intune service and the results are stored as a claim in the device's Azure AD token. Conditional Access policies then use this claim to grant or block access. A subtle behavior is that compliance is re-evaluated on each authentication request, and if a device falls out of compliance (e.g., due to a missing update), access can be immediately revoked without requiring the user to re-register the device.
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.
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
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 company's IT admin needs to give a contractor read-only access to production logs without sharing account credentials. Using role-based access control (RBAC) and temporary scoped permissions — not a permanent shared password — is the correct pattern. Questions like this test whether you can apply least-privilege access across cloud identity services.
Related glossary terms
Concepts from this question explained
These glossary pages explain the core terms tested in this SC-100 question in full detail.
Design a Zero Trust strategy and architecture — This question tests Design a Zero Trust strategy and architecture — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Microsoft Intune for device management and compliance policies — A is correct because Microsoft Intune provides device management and compliance policies that define the security posture required for managed devices, such as requiring encryption, a minimum OS version, or a specific patch level. These compliance policies are evaluated by Azure AD during authentication, ensuring only devices that meet the organization's security standards can access corporate resources.
What should I do if I get this SC-100 question wrong?
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
What is the key concept behind this question?
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
About these practice questions
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Variation 1. An organization is implementing a Zero Trust identity strategy. They have a mix of on-premises Active Directory and Azure AD. They want to enforce conditional access policies that require device compliance for accessing sensitive apps. However, some users report that their devices are not being evaluated for compliance even though they are enrolled in Microsoft Intune. What should the organization check first?
hard
A.Ensure Intune compliance policies are assigned to the correct user groups
B.Confirm that devices are Azure AD Joined
C.Check if users have enabled multi-factor authentication
✓ D.Verify that devices are registered in Azure AD
Why D: Device compliance evaluation in a hybrid identity environment requires that devices are registered in Azure AD (Azure AD Registration) so that Azure AD can associate the device identity with Intune compliance data. Even if a device is enrolled in Intune, without Azure AD registration, Conditional Access policies cannot evaluate its compliance status because the device identity is not recognized by Azure AD during authentication.
Last reviewed: Jun 11, 2026
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