The answer is to connect AWS and GCP accounts using the cloud connectors in Defender for Cloud. This is the first step because Defender for Cloud must establish a native, authenticated bridge to each external cloud environment before it can ingest security signals, assess resources, or apply any policies. Without these connectors, the platform has no visibility into workloads running outside Azure. On the Microsoft Cybersecurity Architect exam, this question tests your understanding of the onboarding sequence—a common trap is confusing the order of operations, such as trying to enable Defender plans or deploy Azure Arc agents before the accounts are connected. Remember that Arc agents are for on-premises servers, not cloud accounts, and custom policies come later. A useful memory tip is “Connectors first, plans second, policies optional”—always establish the data pipeline before you try to protect or govern it.
SC-100 Design security solutions for infrastructure Practice Question
This SC-100 practice question tests your understanding of design security solutions for infrastructure. 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 plans to use Microsoft Defender for Cloud to secure a multi-cloud environment including Azure, AWS, and GCP. What is the first step to enable multi-cloud visibility?
Clue words in this question
Noticing these words before you look at the options changes how you read each choice.
Clue: "first"
Why it matters: Order matters here. You are being tested on which action comes before the others — not which action is generally useful.
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Connect AWS and GCP accounts using the cloud connectors in Defender for Cloud
Option C is correct because you must first onboard the AWS/GCP accounts into Defender for Cloud by connecting them via the native cloud connectors. Option A is wrong because deploying Azure Arc agents is for on-premises servers, not cloud accounts. Option B is wrong because enabling Defender plans is done after onboarding. Option D is wrong because custom policies are optional.
Key principle: NAT direction and interface roles matter as much as the IP address mapping. Inside/outside designation controls which traffic is translated.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
✗
Enable all Defender plans for subscription
Why it's wrong here
Plans are enabled after connecting the accounts.
✓
Connect AWS and GCP accounts using the cloud connectors in Defender for Cloud
Why this is correct
Defender for Cloud provides native connectors to onboard AWS and GCP accounts.
Clue confirmation
The clue word "first" in the question point toward this answer.
Related concept
Static NAT maps one inside address to one outside address.
✗
Create custom compliance policies
Why it's wrong here
Custom policies are optional and not the first step.
✗
Deploy Azure Arc agents on all cloud VMs
Why it's wrong here
Azure Arc is for on-premises or other clouds, but the first step is account onboarding.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: NAT rules depend on direction and matching traffic
NAT is not only about the public address. The inside/outside interface roles and the ACL or rule that matches traffic are just as important.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
NAT questions usually test address translation, overload/PAT behaviour, static mappings and whether the right traffic is being translated. Read the interface direction and address terms carefully.
KKey Concepts to Remember
Static NAT maps one inside address to one outside address.
PAT allows many inside hosts to share one public address using ports.
Inside local and inside global describe the private and translated addresses.
NAT ACLs identify traffic for translation, not always security filtering.
TExam Day Tips
→Identify inside and outside interfaces first.
→Check whether the scenario needs static NAT, dynamic NAT or PAT.
→Do not confuse NAT matching ACLs with normal packet-filtering intent.
Key takeaway
NAT direction and interface roles matter as much as the IP address mapping. Inside/outside designation controls which traffic is translated.
Real-world example
How this comes up in practice
An e-commerce site experiences heavy traffic on Black Friday and near-zero traffic during off-peak weeks. Rather than provisioning permanent large VMs, the team uses auto-scaling groups that add capacity automatically under load and reduce it overnight. Questions like this test whether you understand elasticity, availability zones, and cloud compute scaling patterns.
Related glossary terms
Concepts from this question explained
These glossary pages explain the core terms tested in this SC-100 question in full detail.
Review the four NAT address types (inside local, inside global, outside local, outside global), PAT port overload, and static vs dynamic NAT use cases. Then practise related SC-100 NAT questions on configuration and troubleshooting.
Design security solutions for infrastructure — This question tests Design security solutions for infrastructure — Static NAT maps one inside address to one outside address..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Connect AWS and GCP accounts using the cloud connectors in Defender for Cloud — Option C is correct because you must first onboard the AWS/GCP accounts into Defender for Cloud by connecting them via the native cloud connectors. Option A is wrong because deploying Azure Arc agents is for on-premises servers, not cloud accounts. Option B is wrong because enabling Defender plans is done after onboarding. Option D is wrong because custom policies are optional.
What should I do if I get this SC-100 question wrong?
Review the four NAT address types (inside local, inside global, outside local, outside global), PAT port overload, and static vs dynamic NAT use cases. Then practise related SC-100 NAT questions on configuration and troubleshooting.
Are there clue words in this question I should notice?
Yes — watch for: "first". Order matters here. You are being tested on which action comes before the others — not which action is generally useful.
What is the key concept behind this question?
Static NAT maps one inside address to one outside address.
About these practice questions
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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. Your company plans to deploy Microsoft Defender for Cloud to secure a multi-cloud environment that includes Azure, AWS, and GCP. You need to ensure that security recommendations from all three cloud providers are centrally visible. What should you configure?
easy
✓ A.Onboard AWS and GCP accounts to Microsoft Defender for Cloud using the multicloud connectors feature.
B.Deploy Azure Policy on AWS and GCP using Azure Arc to enforce security policies.
C.Ingest security logs from AWS and GCP into Microsoft Sentinel and use workbooks to view recommendations.
D.Connect AWS accounts to AWS Security Hub and GCP accounts to Google Cloud Security Command Center, then view via a single pane of glass.
Why A: Option B is correct because Microsoft Defender for Cloud can connect AWS and GCP accounts via the multicloud connectors, allowing centralized visibility of security recommendations. Option A is wrong because AWS Security Hub only shows AWS recommendations. Option C is wrong because Azure Policy does not natively assess AWS/GCP resources. Option D is wrong because Microsoft Sentinel is for SIEM/SOAR, not for CSPM recommendations.
Last reviewed: Jun 21, 2026
Question Discussion
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This SC-100 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 SC-100 exam.
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