Question 93 of 1,038
SC-200 Respond to security incidents Practice Question
A security analyst receives an alert from Microsoft Defender for Identity about a suspicious Kerberos ticket request. What is the first step the analyst should take?
⚠ Common exam trap
The trap here is that candidates often jump to containment (disable account) or remediation (reset password) without first validating the alert, confusing the 'respond' phase with the initial 'validate' step required by incident response best practices.
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
✓
Validate the alert by checking the user's recent activity
When Microsoft Defender for Identity alerts on a suspicious Kerberos ticket request, the first step is to validate the alert by checking the user's recent activity. This ensures the alert is not a false positive caused by legitimate behavior (e.g., scheduled tasks or application service tickets) before taking any disruptive action. Defender for Identity uses network traffic and event logs to detect anomalies like overpass-the-hash or Kerberoasting, but initial validation prevents unnecessary account lockouts or password resets.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Disable the user account
Why it's wrong here
Premature without verification.
- ✗
Reset the user's password
Why it's wrong here
Should be done after validation.
- ✗
Run a full antivirus scan on the user's device
Why it's wrong here
Not directly relevant.
- ✓
Validate the alert by checking the user's recent activity
Why this is correct
Confirms the alert.
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Last reviewed: Jul 4, 2026
This SC-200 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-200 exam.
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