SC-100 Practice Question: Recommend security best practices and priorities
This SC-100 practice question tests your understanding of recommend 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.
Exhibit
Refer to the exhibit.
```
Name Type
---- ----
ContosoRoot Management group
- ContosoPlatform Management group
- ContosoProduction Subscription
- ContosoNonProduction Subscription
- ContosoApplication Management group
- App1 Subscription
- App2 Subscription
```
Refer to the exhibit. The ContosoPlatform management group has an Azure Policy assignment that denies all deployments without encryption. The App1 subscription contains a storage account that was created without encryption. Why is the storage account still non-compliant?
Refer to the exhibit.
```
Name Type
---- ----
ContosoRoot Management group
- ContosoPlatform Management group
- ContosoProduction Subscription
- ContosoNonProduction Subscription
- ContosoApplication Management group
- App1 Subscription
- App2 Subscription
```
A
The storage account is in App1 subscription, which is under ContosoApplication, not ContosoPlatform
Policy assignments only affect subscriptions within the assigned management group hierarchy.
B
The policy is assigned at ContosoPlatform, but App1 is not a direct child
Why wrong: App1 is a child of ContosoApplication, not ContosoPlatform.
C
The policy is assigned at ContosoRoot, but ContosoPlatform overrides it
Why wrong: The policy is assigned at ContosoPlatform, not ContosoRoot.
D
Azure Policy does not inherit from parent management groups
Why wrong: Policy does inherit from parent management groups.
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
The storage account is in App1 subscription, which is under ContosoApplication, not ContosoPlatform
Option A is correct because Azure Policy inheritance only applies to direct child management groups and subscriptions. The App1 subscription is a direct child of the ContosoApplication management group, not ContosoPlatform. Since the policy denying deployments without encryption is assigned at ContosoPlatform, it does not inherit to App1 because App1 is not a direct descendant of ContosoPlatform. The storage account was created without encryption and is not subject to the policy, so it remains non-compliant.
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 storage account is in App1 subscription, which is under ContosoApplication, not ContosoPlatform
Why this is correct
Policy assignments only affect subscriptions within the assigned management group hierarchy.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
✗
The policy is assigned at ContosoPlatform, but App1 is not a direct child
Why it's wrong here
App1 is a child of ContosoApplication, not ContosoPlatform.
✗
The policy is assigned at ContosoRoot, but ContosoPlatform overrides it
Why it's wrong here
The policy is assigned at ContosoPlatform, not ContosoRoot.
✗
Azure Policy does not inherit from parent management groups
Why it's wrong here
Policy does inherit from parent management groups.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is that candidates assume Azure Policy inheritance applies across all management groups under the same root, but it only applies to direct descendants, not siblings or indirect children.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
Azure Policy inheritance follows the management group hierarchy strictly: a policy assigned at a management group applies to all direct child management groups and subscriptions, but not to siblings or indirect descendants. In this scenario, ContosoPlatform and ContosoApplication are sibling management groups under ContosoRoot, so a policy at ContosoPlatform does not affect resources under ContosoApplication. This behavior is defined by the Azure Resource Manager hierarchy and policy evaluation scope, which uses a top-down inheritance model only along direct parent-child paths.
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.
Recommend security best practices and priorities — This question tests Recommend 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: The storage account is in App1 subscription, which is under ContosoApplication, not ContosoPlatform — Option A is correct because Azure Policy inheritance only applies to direct child management groups and subscriptions. The App1 subscription is a direct child of the ContosoApplication management group, not ContosoPlatform. Since the policy denying deployments without encryption is assigned at ContosoPlatform, it does not inherit to App1 because App1 is not a direct descendant of ContosoPlatform. The storage account was created without encryption and is not subject to the policy, so it remains non-compliant.
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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