The answer is that the policy is configured in 'report-only' mode, which is the most likely reason your conditional access policy not blocking legacy authentication appears ineffective. In Microsoft Entra ID, a policy set to report-only logs all sign-in events and evaluates them against the policy conditions, but it never enforces the block—it simply records what would have happened. This is a common trap on the Microsoft Cybersecurity Architect exam: candidates often confuse the "Enabled" toggle with enforcement, but report-only mode is a separate setting that explicitly prevents blocking. The exam tests your ability to distinguish between the three policy states—Enabled, Report-only, and Disabled—and to recognize that legacy authentication clients like Outlook 2010 will still connect if the policy is not in an enforcing state. A quick memory tip: think "report-only = read-only" for blocking actions; it watches but never touches.
SC-100 Practice Question: Design security operations, identity, and compliance capabilities
This SC-100 practice question tests your understanding of design security operations, identity, and compliance capabilities. 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.
Refer to the exhibit. You are reviewing a Conditional Access policy in Microsoft Entra ID. The policy appears to block all legacy authentication. However, some users report that they can still access Exchange Online using Outlook 2010 (which uses basic authentication). What is the most likely reason the policy is not blocking these connections?
Clue words in this question
Noticing these words before you look at the options changes how you read each choice.
Clue: "most likely"
Why it matters: Probability qualifier — the question wants the most probable cause or outcome, not a guaranteed one. Eliminate low-probability options.
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
The policy is configured in 'report-only' mode
Option B is correct because the policy is in 'report-only' mode, which logs but does not block connections. The exhibit shows 'enabled' but not 'enabledForReportingButNotEnforced'. However, the question implies the policy is not blocking, so the most common reason is that it's in report-only mode. Option A is wrong because 'otherClients' covers Outlook 2010. Option C is wrong because the policy is enabled. Option D is wrong because there is no exclusion for specific users.
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.
✓
The policy is configured in 'report-only' mode
Why this is correct
Report-only mode logs but does not enforce block actions.
Clue confirmation
The clue word "most likely" in the question point toward this answer.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
✗
The policy excludes all users in the 'Global Administrators' group
Why it's wrong here
No exclusion is shown in the exhibit.
✗
The clientAppTypes condition does not include 'mobileAppsAndDesktopClients'
Why it's wrong here
Outlook 2010 uses basic auth and is captured by 'otherClients'.
✗
The policy state is 'disabled'
Why it's wrong here
The exhibit shows 'state': 'enabled'.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
Many certification questions include familiar terms but test a specific constraint. Read the exact wording before choosing an answer that is generally true but wrong for this case.
Trap categories for this question
Command / output trap
No exclusion is shown in the exhibit.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
This question should be treated as a scenario, not a definition check. Identify the problem, the constraint and the best action. Then compare each option against those facts.
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.
Use explanations to understand the rule behind the answer.
TExam Day Tips
→Underline the problem statement mentally.
→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.
Identify which SC-100 exam domain this question belongs to, then review the specific concept being tested. Practise related questions in that domain and focus on understanding why each wrong answer is tempting — not just why the correct answer is right.
Design security operations, identity, and compliance capabilities — This question tests Design security operations, identity, and compliance capabilities — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: The policy is configured in 'report-only' mode — Option B is correct because the policy is in 'report-only' mode, which logs but does not block connections. The exhibit shows 'enabled' but not 'enabledForReportingButNotEnforced'. However, the question implies the policy is not blocking, so the most common reason is that it's in report-only mode. Option A is wrong because 'otherClients' covers Outlook 2010. Option C is wrong because the policy is enabled. Option D is wrong because there is no exclusion for specific users.
What should I do if I get this SC-100 question wrong?
Identify which SC-100 exam domain this question belongs to, then review the specific concept being tested. Practise related questions in that domain and focus on understanding why each wrong answer is tempting — not just why the correct answer is right.
Are there clue words in this question I should notice?
Yes — watch for: "most likely". Probability qualifier — the question wants the most probable cause or outcome, not a guaranteed one. Eliminate low-probability options.
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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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. Refer to the exhibit. You are reviewing a Conditional Access policy JSON. The policy is intended to block legacy authentication. However, users are still able to access email using Outlook (modern auth). What is the most likely reason?
hard
A.The policy does not include 'Microsoft Office 365' in applications
✓ B.The clientAppTypes list does not include 'modernAuth'
C.The grant control should be 'require MFA' instead of 'block'
D.The policy state is set to 'enabled' incorrectly
Why B: Option B is correct because the 'clientAppTypes' list in the Conditional Access policy must include 'modernAuth' to explicitly target and block modern authentication clients. Without this entry, the policy only applies to legacy authentication protocols (e.g., POP, IMAP, SMTP), leaving modern auth flows (like Outlook using OAuth 2.0) unaffected. The JSON snippet shows 'clientAppTypes': ['exchangeActiveSync', 'other'], which omits 'modernAuth', so Outlook (modern auth) bypasses the block.
Last reviewed: Jun 21, 2026
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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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