Quick Answer
The answer is "Assume breach" and "Verify explicitly," as these two principles form the core of the Zero Trust security model. Assume breach means designing your security architecture with the mindset that a breach has already occurred, limiting the blast radius by segmenting access and using real-time threat detection. Verify explicitly requires continuous authentication and authorization for every access request based on all available data points—user identity, location, device health, and data sensitivity—regardless of network location. On the Microsoft Cybersecurity Architect exam, this tests your understanding that Zero Trust rejects implicit trust, even for internal traffic; a common trap is choosing "trust but verify" or "perimeter-based defense" instead. Remember the mnemonic "AV" for Assume breach and Verify explicitly—these two always travel together as the fundamental principles of Zero Trust.
This SC-100 practice question tests your understanding of design security operations, identity, and compliance capabilities. 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.
A company wants to implement a Zero Trust security model. Which TWO principles are fundamental to Zero Trust? (Choose two.)
Verify explicitly.
Core Zero Trust principle.
Use perimeter-based security.
Why wrong: Perimeter-based security is traditional, not Zero Trust.
Trust internal network.
Why wrong: Zero Trust does not trust any network implicitly.
Trust but verify.
Why wrong: Not a Zero Trust principle.
Assume breach.
Core Zero Trust principle.
Answer choices
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
Verify explicitly.
Option A is correct because Zero Trust mandates that every access request must be authenticated and authorized based on all available data points, including user identity, location, device health, and data sensitivity, regardless of the network location. This 'verify explicitly' principle eliminates implicit trust and enforces continuous validation for every transaction, aligning with Microsoft's Zero Trust deployment guidance for identity and access management.
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.
Verify explicitly.
Why this is correct
Core Zero Trust principle.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
Use perimeter-based security.
Why it's wrong here
Perimeter-based security is traditional, not Zero Trust.
Trust internal network.
Why it's wrong here
Zero Trust does not trust any network implicitly.
Trust but verify.
Why it's wrong here
Not a Zero Trust principle.
Assume breach.
Why this is correct
Core Zero Trust principle.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
Common exam traps
The trap here is that candidates often confuse 'trust but verify' (Option D) with Zero Trust, but Microsoft explicitly defines Zero Trust as 'never trust, always verify,' making 'trust but verify' a legacy approach that still assumes initial trust.
Detailed technical explanation
Under the hood, Zero Trust enforces conditional access policies via protocols like OAuth 2.0 and OpenID Connect, where each request must carry a token validated against real-time risk signals (e.g., user behavior analytics, device compliance). In a real-world scenario, if a user's device fails a health check (e.g., missing antivirus updates), the policy engine can block access to sensitive resources even if the user is on the corporate VPN, demonstrating the 'verify explicitly' principle in action.
Key takeaway
Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Real-world example
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
Design security operations, identity, and compliance capabilities — This question tests Design security operations, identity, and compliance capabilities — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
The correct answer is: Verify explicitly. — Option A is correct because Zero Trust mandates that every access request must be authenticated and authorized based on all available data points, including user identity, location, device health, and data sensitivity, regardless of the network location. This 'verify explicitly' principle eliminates implicit trust and enforces continuous validation for every transaction, aligning with Microsoft's Zero Trust deployment guidance for identity and access management.
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.
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Last reviewed: Jun 24, 2026
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