- A
Enable Microsoft Defender for Office 365 for phishing protection. Use Microsoft Purview Information Protection to automatically label sensitive emails. Create a Conditional Access policy to require MFA for admins only. Use Azure Information Protection scanner.
Why wrong: MFA for admins only is insufficient; missing DLP and device management.
- B
Enable Exchange Online Protection (EOP) for spam and malware filtering. Create a Conditional Access policy to require MFA for all users. Enable device compliance policies in Microsoft Intune.
Why wrong: Missing DLP for data leakage protection.
- C
Enable Microsoft Defender for Office 365 Safe Links and Safe Attachments. Create a Microsoft Purview DLP policy to prevent external sharing of sensitive data. Create a Conditional Access policy to require MFA and device compliance.
Covers all requirements: email protection, DLP, MFA, and device health via Conditional Access with device compliance.
- D
Enable Microsoft Defender for Office 365 Safe Links and Safe Attachments. Create a Microsoft Purview DLP policy to block sharing of credit card numbers. Enable security defaults in Microsoft Entra ID to enforce MFA.
Why wrong: Missing device health management.
Quick Answer
The correct combination is enabling Microsoft Defender for Office 365 Safe Links and Safe Attachments, creating a Microsoft Purview DLP policy, and configuring a Conditional Access policy to require MFA and device compliance. This directly addresses all four requirements: Safe Links and Safe Attachments block malicious emails and links, the DLP policy prevents external sharing of sensitive data to stop data leakage, and the Conditional Access policy enforces multi-factor authentication for all users while ensuring devices are healthy through compliance checks. On the Microsoft Cybersecurity Architect exam, this scenario tests your ability to map built-in Microsoft 365 Business Premium capabilities to a small business security baseline with minimal ongoing effort. A common trap is overcomplicating the solution with third-party tools or custom scripts when native policies suffice. Remember the mnemonic "MAD-DLP-CA" for Malware, Anti-phishing, Data Loss Prevention, and Conditional Access—each requirement maps to one of these pillars.
SC-100 Practice Question: Design solutions that align with security best practices and priorities
This SC-100 practice question tests your understanding of design solutions that align with security best practices and priorities. 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.
Your organization is a small business with 50 employees that uses Microsoft 365 Business Premium. You need to design a security baseline that protects against common threats like phishing, ransomware, and data leakage. The solution must be easy to manage and require minimal ongoing effort. You have the following requirements: 1. Block malicious emails and links. 2. Protect sensitive data from being shared externally. 3. Require multi-factor authentication for all users. 4. Keep devices healthy. Which combination of policies should you implement?
Answer choices
Why each option matters
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
Enable Microsoft Defender for Office 365 Safe Links and Safe Attachments. Create a Microsoft Purview DLP policy to prevent external sharing of sensitive data. Create a Conditional Access policy to require MFA and device compliance.
Option C is correct because it directly addresses all four requirements: Microsoft Defender for Office 365 Safe Links and Safe Attachments blocks malicious emails and links; a Microsoft Purview DLP policy prevents external sharing of sensitive data, protecting against data leakage; a Conditional Access policy requiring MFA and device compliance enforces multi-factor authentication for all users and ensures devices are healthy. This combination is easy to manage with minimal ongoing effort, as it leverages built-in Microsoft 365 Business Premium capabilities without complex custom configurations.
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 Microsoft Defender for Office 365 for phishing protection. Use Microsoft Purview Information Protection to automatically label sensitive emails. Create a Conditional Access policy to require MFA for admins only. Use Azure Information Protection scanner.
Why it's wrong here
MFA for admins only is insufficient; missing DLP and device management.
- ✗
Enable Exchange Online Protection (EOP) for spam and malware filtering. Create a Conditional Access policy to require MFA for all users. Enable device compliance policies in Microsoft Intune.
Why it's wrong here
Missing DLP for data leakage protection.
- ✓
Enable Microsoft Defender for Office 365 Safe Links and Safe Attachments. Create a Microsoft Purview DLP policy to prevent external sharing of sensitive data. Create a Conditional Access policy to require MFA and device compliance.
Why this is correct
Covers all requirements: email protection, DLP, MFA, and device health via Conditional Access with device compliance.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
- ✗
Enable Microsoft Defender for Office 365 Safe Links and Safe Attachments. Create a Microsoft Purview DLP policy to block sharing of credit card numbers. Enable security defaults in Microsoft Entra ID to enforce MFA.
Why it's wrong here
Missing device health management.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is that candidates often confuse Exchange Online Protection (EOP) with Defender for Office 365, not realizing that EOP lacks advanced link and attachment protection, and they may overlook the need for device compliance policies when only security defaults are used for MFA.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
Microsoft Defender for Office 365 Safe Links proactively detonates URLs at time of click using time-of-click verification, while Safe Attachments detonates attachments in a sandbox environment before delivery. Microsoft Purview DLP policies can be scoped to sensitive information types (e.g., PII, financial data) and use conditions like 'block with override' or 'block' for external sharing. Conditional Access with device compliance requires the device to be marked as compliant by Intune (e.g., requiring BitLocker, antivirus, or OS updates) before granting access, ensuring device health beyond just MFA.
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 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.
What to study next
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FAQ
Questions learners often ask
What does this SC-100 question test?
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..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Enable Microsoft Defender for Office 365 Safe Links and Safe Attachments. Create a Microsoft Purview DLP policy to prevent external sharing of sensitive data. Create a Conditional Access policy to require MFA and device compliance. — Option C is correct because it directly addresses all four requirements: Microsoft Defender for Office 365 Safe Links and Safe Attachments blocks malicious emails and links; a Microsoft Purview DLP policy prevents external sharing of sensitive data, protecting against data leakage; a Conditional Access policy requiring MFA and device compliance enforces multi-factor authentication for all users and ensures devices are healthy. This combination is easy to manage with minimal ongoing effort, as it leverages built-in Microsoft 365 Business Premium capabilities without complex custom configurations.
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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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.
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