SC-200 Practice Question: Mitigate threats using Microsoft Defender for Cloud
This SC-200 practice question tests your understanding of mitigate threats using microsoft defender for cloud. 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.
A company uses Microsoft Defender for Cloud to protect an Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS) cluster. The security team wants to receive security alerts about suspicious activities within the cluster, such as a container running with root privileges or attempts to read sensitive host paths. Which Defender for Cloud plan must be enabled to generate these alerts?
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Defender for Containers
Defender for Containers is the specific plan that provides threat detection for Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS) clusters, including alerts for suspicious activities such as containers running with root privileges or attempts to read sensitive host paths. This plan monitors the Kubernetes control plane and container runtime to generate security alerts based on Kubernetes audit logs and container-specific signals.
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.
✗
Defender for Servers
Why it's wrong here
Defender for Servers protects VMs and servers, not container workloads.
✓
Defender for Containers
Why this is correct
Defender for Containers provides threat detection and alerts for AKS clusters, including runtime behaviors.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
✗
Defender for Cloud Apps
Why it's wrong here
Defender for Cloud Apps protects SaaS applications, not container infrastructure.
✗
Defender for SQL
Why it's wrong here
Defender for SQL secures SQL databases, not container clusters.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is that candidates often confuse Defender for Servers with container protection because they think containers run on servers, but Defender for Servers does not monitor Kubernetes audit logs or container runtime activities, which are essential for detecting the described alerts.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
Defender for Containers integrates with Azure Kubernetes Service by enabling the Azure Policy add-on and the Kubernetes audit log stream to Microsoft Defender for Cloud. It uses the Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS) diagnostic settings to forward kube-audit and kube-security logs, which are then analyzed by Microsoft's threat intelligence models to detect privilege escalations, host path mounts, and other suspicious behaviors. A real-world scenario is when an attacker compromises a container and attempts to mount the host's /var/log directory to exfiltrate logs; Defender for Containers would generate an alert based on the Kubernetes audit event for the hostPath volume mount.
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 cloud solutions architect for a retail company is evaluating services for a new workload. The correct answer here reflects best practice for the specific scenario described — not a general cloud recommendation. Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option. Cloud exam questions reward reading the constraint carefully: the same technology can be right or wrong depending on the use case.
Related glossary terms
Concepts from this question explained
These glossary pages explain the core terms tested in this SC-200 question in full detail.
Mitigate threats using Microsoft Defender for Cloud — This question tests Mitigate threats using Microsoft Defender for Cloud — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Defender for Containers — Defender for Containers is the specific plan that provides threat detection for Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS) clusters, including alerts for suspicious activities such as containers running with root privileges or attempts to read sensitive host paths. This plan monitors the Kubernetes control plane and container runtime to generate security alerts based on Kubernetes audit logs and container-specific signals.
What should I do if I get this SC-200 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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