The answer is "Assume breach" and "Verify explicitly" as the two foundational Zero Trust principles your organization must include. This is correct because Microsoft’s Zero Trust model is built on three core pillars: verify explicitly, use least privilege, and assume breach. "Verify explicitly" means authenticating and authorizing every access request based on all available data points—such as user identity, location, device health, and data classification—before granting access, which directly maps to Azure AD Conditional Access policies. "Assume breach" means designing your security architecture to minimize blast radius and segment access, operating as if a breach has already occurred, which is why it is a mandatory principle. On the Microsoft Cybersecurity Architect exam, this question tests your ability to distinguish the three foundational principles from implementation tactics; a common trap is selecting "use least privilege" as a third principle when the question asks for only two. Memory tip: think of the acronym VLA—Verify, Least privilege, Assume—and remember that "Assume breach" is the unique mindset that separates Zero Trust from traditional perimeter-based security.
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. 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 is designing a security strategy for Microsoft 365. You need to align with Microsoft's Zero Trust best practices. Which TWO principles should be included?
Clue words in this question
Noticing these words before you look at the options changes how you read each choice.
Clue: "best"
Why it matters: Signals that multiple options may be partially correct. Choose the option that most directly solves the exact problem described, not the one that sounds most complete.
A key Zero Trust principle: always authenticate and authorize based on all available data points.
B
Trust but verify
Why wrong: Contradicts Zero Trust; the principle is 'never trust, always verify'.
C
Verify implicitly
Why wrong: Not a principle; Zero Trust requires explicit verification.
D
Assume breach
Design for breach by segmenting access and minimizing blast radius.
E
Use least privilege
Why wrong: Least privilege is a component, but 'use least privilege' is not one of the three core pillars; the pillars are verify explicitly, assume breach, and use least privilege access.
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Verify explicitly
The Zero Trust model, as defined by Microsoft, is built on three foundational principles: verify explicitly, use least privilege, and assume breach. 'Verify explicitly' means always authenticating and authorizing based on all available data points, including user identity, location, device health, service or workload, data classification, and anomalies, before granting access. This aligns directly with Microsoft's implementation in Azure AD Conditional Access, which enforces real-time policy evaluation for every access request.
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.
✓
Verify explicitly
Why this is correct
A key Zero Trust principle: always authenticate and authorize based on all available data points.
Clue confirmation
The clue word "best" in the question point toward this answer.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
✗
Trust but verify
Why it's wrong here
Contradicts Zero Trust; the principle is 'never trust, always verify'.
✗
Verify implicitly
Why it's wrong here
Not a principle; Zero Trust requires explicit verification.
✓
Assume breach
Why this is correct
Design for breach by segmenting access and minimizing blast radius.
Clue confirmation
The clue word "best" in the question point toward this answer.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
✗
Use least privilege
Why it's wrong here
Least privilege is a component, but 'use least privilege' is not one of the three core pillars; the pillars are verify explicitly, assume breach, and use least privilege access.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is that candidates often confuse 'use least privilege' as a separate principle when it is actually one of the three core Zero Trust pillars, but the question specifically requires selecting the two principles that are explicitly named in Microsoft's Zero Trust guidance, which are 'verify explicitly' and 'assume breach'.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
Under the hood, 'verify explicitly' relies on continuous evaluation of signals such as user risk (from Azure AD Identity Protection), device compliance (from Microsoft Intune), and real-time session risk (from Microsoft Defender for Cloud Apps). 'Assume breach' drives design decisions like segmenting access with micro-perimeters, using Just-In-Time (JIT) and Just-Enough-Access (JEA) in Azure AD Privileged Identity Management, and implementing data encryption at rest and in transit (e.g., TLS 1.3, BitLocker, Azure Storage encryption). In a real-world scenario, if a user's device is compromised, 'assume breach' ensures that lateral movement is contained by network micro-segmentation and that access tokens are short-lived (e.g., using Azure AD token lifetime policies).
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: Verify explicitly — The Zero Trust model, as defined by Microsoft, is built on three foundational principles: verify explicitly, use least privilege, and assume breach. 'Verify explicitly' means always authenticating and authorizing based on all available data points, including user identity, location, device health, service or workload, data classification, and anomalies, before granting access. This aligns directly with Microsoft's implementation in Azure AD Conditional Access, which enforces real-time policy evaluation for every access request.
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.
Are there clue words in this question I should notice?
Yes — watch for: "best". Signals that multiple options may be partially correct. Choose the option that most directly solves the exact problem described, not the one that sounds most complete.
What is the key concept behind this question?
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
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