The correct choice is to create a new policy assignment with a deployIfNotExists effect that enables HTTPS-only, because this effect automatically remediates non-compliant resources by deploying a defined configuration—such as enabling HTTPS traffic—when a violation is detected. Unlike the audit-only effect, deployIfNotExists triggers a remediation task that modifies the resource to meet the policy requirement, eliminating manual intervention. On the Microsoft Cybersecurity Architect exam, this scenario tests your understanding of Azure Policy effects for automatic remediation, often appearing as a trap where candidates mistakenly choose a manual fix or a different effect like modify. A key memory tip is to associate deployIfNotExists with “deploy the fix if it doesn’t exist”—think of it as a self-healing policy that automatically applies the missing configuration, making it ideal for enforcing security baselines like HTTPS-only on storage accounts.
SC-100 Design security for infrastructure Practice Question
This SC-100 practice question tests your understanding of design security for infrastructure. 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 uses Azure Policy to enforce that all storage accounts must have HTTPS traffic only. They assign a built-in policy to audit this setting. A developer creates a new storage account with HTTP enabled, and the policy reports it as non-compliant. What should the company do to automatically remediate this violation?
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Create a new policy assignment with a 'deployIfNotExists' effect that enables HTTPS-only.
Option D is correct because the 'deployIfNotExists' effect in Azure Policy can automatically remediate non-compliant resources by deploying a configuration (such as enabling HTTPS-only) when the policy detects a violation. This effect runs a remediation task that modifies the resource to meet the policy requirement, eliminating the need for manual intervention. In this scenario, it would automatically enable HTTPS traffic on the storage account, bringing it into compliance.
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.
✗
Enable Azure Security Center's just-in-time access for storage accounts.
Why it's wrong here
JIT is for management ports, not for storage account configuration.
✗
Change the policy effect to 'Deny' to prevent creation of non-compliant storage accounts.
Why it's wrong here
This would block new non-compliant accounts but not fix existing ones.
✗
Ask the developer to manually enable HTTPS-only on the storage account.
Why it's wrong here
Not automated; the goal is automatic remediation.
✓
Create a new policy assignment with a 'deployIfNotExists' effect that enables HTTPS-only.
Why this is correct
This automatically remediates non-compliant accounts.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is that candidates often confuse the 'Deny' effect (which only blocks new non-compliant resources) with 'deployIfNotExists' (which remediates existing non-compliant resources), leading them to choose Option B instead of D.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
The 'deployIfNotExists' effect works by evaluating resources after creation or update, and if the resource is non-compliant, it triggers a deployment of a specified ARM template or configuration to fix the issue. For storage accounts, the built-in policy 'Secure transfer to storage accounts should be enabled' uses this effect to set the 'supportsHttpsTrafficOnly' property to true. Under the hood, Azure Policy uses a managed identity to perform the remediation, which requires appropriate permissions (e.g., Contributor role) on the resource scope. A real-world scenario is when a DevOps pipeline creates storage accounts with default settings that allow HTTP; the policy automatically corrects this without breaking the pipeline.
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 security for infrastructure — This question tests Design security for infrastructure — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Create a new policy assignment with a 'deployIfNotExists' effect that enables HTTPS-only. — Option D is correct because the 'deployIfNotExists' effect in Azure Policy can automatically remediate non-compliant resources by deploying a configuration (such as enabling HTTPS-only) when the policy detects a violation. This effect runs a remediation task that modifies the resource to meet the policy requirement, eliminating the need for manual intervention. In this scenario, it would automatically enable HTTPS traffic on the storage account, bringing it into compliance.
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.
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Question Discussion
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