The answer is to enable both Cloud Security Posture Management (CSPM) and Microsoft Defender for Cloud workload protection. CSPM is a foundational best practice because it continuously assesses your Azure environment against security benchmarks like the Azure Security Benchmark, proactively identifying misconfigurations such as open management ports or unencrypted storage before they can be exploited. This aligns with the 'prevent' phase of the shared responsibility model. On the Cybersecurity Architect exam, this pairing tests your understanding that CSPM handles configuration hardening while workload protection provides runtime threat detection for servers, databases, and containers—a common trap is choosing only one or confusing CSPM with just a compliance dashboard. Remember the memory tip: "CSPM prevents the holes, workload protection stops the thieves"—both are required for complete defender for cloud security best practices.
SC-100 Practice Question: Design solutions that align with security best practices and priorities
This SC-100 practice question tests your understanding of design solutions that align with security best practices and priorities. 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.
A company is implementing Microsoft Defender for Cloud to protect their Azure environment. Which TWO of the following are security best practices that should be enabled? (Choose two.)
Clue words in this question
Noticing these words before you look at the options changes how you read each choice.
Clue: "best"
Why it matters: Signals that multiple options may be partially correct. Choose the option that most directly solves the exact problem described, not the one that sounds most complete.
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Cloud Security Posture Management (CSPM)
Cloud Security Posture Management (CSPM) is a core feature of Microsoft Defender for Cloud that continuously assesses your Azure environment against security benchmarks (e.g., Azure Security Benchmark) and provides actionable recommendations to harden configurations. Enabling CSPM is a foundational best practice because it proactively identifies misconfigurations (like open management ports or unencrypted storage) before they can be exploited, directly aligning with the 'prevent' phase of the shared responsibility model.
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.
✓
Cloud Security Posture Management (CSPM)
Why this is correct
CSPM provides continuous assessment of security controls.
Clue confirmation
The clue word "best" in the question point toward this answer.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
✓
Microsoft Defender for Cloud workload protection
Why this is correct
Workload protection provides threat detection for workloads.
Clue confirmation
The clue word "best" in the question point toward this answer.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
✗
Microsoft Defender for Office 365
Why it's wrong here
Defender for Office 365 is for email and collaboration.
✗
Microsoft Defender for Endpoint onboarding
Why it's wrong here
Defender for Endpoint is for endpoints, not cloud.
✗
Microsoft Sentinel integration
Why it's wrong here
Sentinel is a separate SIEM, not a best practice within Defender for Cloud.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is that candidates often confuse 'security best practices that should be enabled' with 'all available security products,' leading them to select options like Defender for Office 365 or Sentinel, which are valuable but not mandatory foundational practices for Azure environment protection in the context of Defender for Cloud.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
CSPM in Defender for Cloud uses the Azure Policy engine to evaluate resources against built-in regulatory compliance frameworks like CIS, NIST, and PCI DSS, assigning a secure score that directly reflects the percentage of healthy controls. Workload protection (option B) extends CSPM by enabling advanced threat detection for specific resource types (e.g., SQL servers, storage accounts, Kubernetes) using behavioral analytics and Microsoft Threat Intelligence, which is why both are considered essential best practices for a comprehensive security posture.
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 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 SC-100 question in full detail.
Design solutions that align with security best practices and priorities — This question tests Design solutions that align with security best practices and priorities — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Cloud Security Posture Management (CSPM) — Cloud Security Posture Management (CSPM) is a core feature of Microsoft Defender for Cloud that continuously assesses your Azure environment against security benchmarks (e.g., Azure Security Benchmark) and provides actionable recommendations to harden configurations. Enabling CSPM is a foundational best practice because it proactively identifies misconfigurations (like open management ports or unencrypted storage) before they can be exploited, directly aligning with the 'prevent' phase of the shared responsibility model.
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.
Are there clue words in this question I should notice?
Yes — watch for: "best". Signals that multiple options may be partially correct. Choose the option that most directly solves the exact problem described, not the one that sounds most complete.
What is the key concept behind this question?
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
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Question Discussion
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