Quick Answer
The answer is to enable the CIS Azure Foundations Benchmark in the Defender for Cloud regulatory compliance dashboard. This is correct because Defender for Cloud’s compliance dashboard natively integrates the CIS benchmark as a built-in standard, allowing continuous, automated assessment of Azure resources against all CIS controls without needing custom policies or manual assignments. On the Microsoft Cybersecurity Architect exam, this tests your understanding of how Defender for Cloud simplifies compliance management through pre-configured standards rather than requiring manual Azure Policy definitions. A common trap is assuming you must create custom initiatives or assign policies individually, but the dashboard handles this automatically. Remember the key distinction: the regulatory compliance dashboard is the central hub for enabling and tracking built-in benchmarks like CIS. Memory tip: Think “CIS in the Dashboard” – you enable the standard, not the policies.
This SC-100 practice question tests your understanding of design solutions that align with security best practices and priorities. 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.
Your organization plans to use Microsoft Defender for Cloud to secure Azure resources. The security team wants to continuously assess compliance against the CIS Azure Foundations Benchmark. What should you do?
Create a custom Azure Blueprint for CIS
Why wrong: Blueprint is for deployment, not ongoing assessment.
Deploy Azure Security Center (legacy)
Why wrong: Legacy, not the current product.
Enable the CIS Azure Foundations Benchmark in Defender for Cloud regulatory compliance dashboard
Directly supports the benchmark.
Assign Azure Policy for all CIS controls manually
Why wrong: Manual and inefficient.
Answer choices
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
Enable the CIS Azure Foundations Benchmark in Defender for Cloud regulatory compliance dashboard
Option C is correct because Microsoft Defender for Cloud's regulatory compliance dashboard includes built-in support for the CIS Azure Foundations Benchmark. By enabling this standard in the dashboard, Defender for Cloud continuously assesses your Azure resources against all CIS controls, providing automated compliance scores and remediation recommendations without requiring custom definitions or manual policy assignments.
Key principle: Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Answer analysis
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
Create a custom Azure Blueprint for CIS
Why it's wrong here
Blueprint is for deployment, not ongoing assessment.
Deploy Azure Security Center (legacy)
Why it's wrong here
Legacy, not the current product.
Enable the CIS Azure Foundations Benchmark in Defender for Cloud regulatory compliance dashboard
Why this is correct
Directly supports the benchmark.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
Assign Azure Policy for all CIS controls manually
Why it's wrong here
Manual and inefficient.
Common exam traps
The trap here is that candidates may think they need to create custom Azure Blueprints or manually assign Azure Policies for CIS compliance, overlooking that Defender for Cloud's regulatory compliance dashboard already includes a pre-configured, continuously updated CIS benchmark initiative that automates the entire assessment process.
Detailed technical explanation
Under the hood, Defender for Cloud's regulatory compliance dashboard leverages Azure Policy initiatives (built-in policy sets) that map to specific CIS control IDs. When you enable the CIS Azure Foundations Benchmark, Defender for Cloud automatically assigns the corresponding initiative (e.g., 'CIS Microsoft Azure Foundations Benchmark v1.3.0') to the selected scope, runs continuous assessments, and surfaces compliance status in the dashboard. This initiative includes dozens of individual policies that check resource configurations (e.g., storage account encryption, network security group rules) against CIS requirements, and the dashboard aggregates results per control.
Key takeaway
Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Real-world example
A cloud solutions architect for a retail company is evaluating services for a new workload. The correct answer here reflects best practice for the specific scenario described — not a general cloud recommendation. Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option. Cloud exam questions reward reading the constraint carefully: the same technology can be right or wrong depending on the use case.
What to study next
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
Design solutions that align with security best practices and priorities — study guide chapter
Learn the concepts, then practise the questions
Design solutions that align with security best practices and priorities practice questions
Targeted practice on this topic area only
All SC-100 questions
969 questions across all exam domains
Microsoft Cybersecurity Architect study guide
Full concept coverage aligned to exam objectives
SC-100 practice test guide
How to use practice tests most effectively before exam day
Related practice questions
Use these pages to review the topic behind this question. This is how one missed question becomes focused revision.
Practise SC-100 questions linked to Design solutions that align with security best practices and priorities.
Practise SC-100 questions linked to Design security operations, identity, and compliance capabilities.
Practise SC-100 questions linked to Design security solutions for infrastructure.
Practise SC-100 questions linked to Design a Zero Trust strategy and architecture.
Practise SC-100 questions linked to Design security solutions for applications and data.
Practise SC-100 questions linked to Evaluate GRC and security operations strategies.
Practise SC-100 questions linked to Design security for infrastructure.
Practise SC-100 questions linked to Design a strategy for data and applications.
Practise SC-100 questions linked to Recommend security best practices and priorities.
Practise SC-100 questions linked to SC-100 fundamentals.
Practise SC-100 questions linked to SC-100 scenario.
Practise SC-100 questions linked to SC-100 troubleshooting.
Practice this exam
Short sessions build daily habit. Longer sessions build exam-day stamina. Try a timed session to simulate real conditions.
FAQ
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..
The correct answer is: Enable the CIS Azure Foundations Benchmark in Defender for Cloud regulatory compliance dashboard — Option C is correct because Microsoft Defender for Cloud's regulatory compliance dashboard includes built-in support for the CIS Azure Foundations Benchmark. By enabling this standard in the dashboard, Defender for Cloud continuously assesses your Azure resources against all CIS controls, providing automated compliance scores and remediation recommendations without requiring custom definitions or manual policy assignments.
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
About these practice questions
Courseiva creates original exam-style practice questions with explanations and wrong-answer analysis. It does not publish real exam questions, exam dumps, or protected exam content. Learn why practice questions differ from exam dumps →
Last reviewed: Jun 24, 2026
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.
Question Discussion
Share a tip, memory trick, or ask about the reasoning behind this question. Do not post real exam questions, leaked content, braindumps, or copyrighted exam material. Comments are moderated and may be removed without notice.
Sign in to join the discussion.