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. Read the scenario carefully and evaluate each option against the stated constraints before committing to an answer. 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 company is migrating on-premises Active Directory to Microsoft Entra ID. The security team requires that users must use passwordless authentication methods for all sign-ins. Which Microsoft Entra ID feature should you enable to support passwordless authentication?
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Microsoft Entra ID passwordless authentication methods
Option A is correct because Microsoft Entra ID passwordless authentication methods (such as Windows Hello for Business, FIDO2 security keys, and Microsoft Authenticator) are the native features designed to eliminate passwords entirely. These methods satisfy the security team's requirement by enabling users to sign in without a password, using biometrics or cryptographic keys instead.
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.
✓
Microsoft Entra ID passwordless authentication methods
Why this is correct
Passwordless methods include Windows Hello, FIDO2 keys, and Authenticator app, eliminating passwords.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
✗
Password hash synchronization
Why it's wrong here
Password hash synchronization syncs password hashes but does not enable passwordless authentication.
✗
Seamless Single Sign-On (Seamless SSO)
Why it's wrong here
Seamless SSO provides automatic sign-in but still requires a password or other credential.
✗
Pass-through authentication
Why it's wrong here
Pass-through authentication validates passwords on-premises, not passwordless.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is that candidates often confuse 'passwordless authentication' with features that reduce password usage (like Seamless SSO or PHS) rather than understanding that only the dedicated passwordless methods in Entra ID actually remove the password requirement entirely.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
Passwordless authentication in Entra ID leverages the WebAuthn standard for FIDO2 security keys and the Microsoft Authenticator app's phone sign-in, which uses a time-based one-time password (TOTP) plus a push notification with a number match. Under the hood, these methods replace the password with a private key stored on the device, validated against a public key in Entra ID, eliminating the risk of password theft. In a real-world scenario, a company migrating from on-premises AD can use a staged rollout of passwordless methods via Conditional Access policies to enforce passwordless sign-in only for targeted users first.
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.
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 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: Microsoft Entra ID passwordless authentication methods — Option A is correct because Microsoft Entra ID passwordless authentication methods (such as Windows Hello for Business, FIDO2 security keys, and Microsoft Authenticator) are the native features designed to eliminate passwords entirely. These methods satisfy the security team's requirement by enabling users to sign in without a password, using biometrics or cryptographic keys instead.
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.
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 →
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.
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.