Quick Answer
The answer is to review the user’s risk level and sign-in logs in Microsoft Entra ID Protection. This is the correct first step because it provides the contextual evidence needed to confirm whether the anomalous activity truly indicates a compromise, rather than a false positive or a legitimate user error. Entra ID Protection aggregates risk detections, sign-in patterns, and user risk scores, allowing the analyst to assess the severity and scope before taking any containment actions. On the SC-200 exam, this question tests your understanding of the investigative workflow: always verify the threat with available telemetry before acting. A common trap is jumping straight to password reset or account disablement, which can disrupt business operations or tip off an attacker. Remember the mnemonic “Verify before you rectify”—confirm the risk level first, then contain.
This SC-200 practice question tests your understanding of manage a security operations environment. 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 SOC analyst suspects a user account is compromised based on anomalous sign-in activity detected by Microsoft Entra ID Protection. The analyst needs to confirm and contain the threat. What is the first action the analyst should take?
Clue words in this question
Noticing these words before you look at the options changes how you read each choice.
Clue: "first"
Why it matters: Order matters here. You are being tested on which action comes before the others — not which action is generally useful.
Reset the user's password immediately
Why wrong: Should confirm compromise first.
Review the user's risk level and sign-in logs in Microsoft Entra ID Protection
First confirm the compromise by reviewing risk and logs.
Disable the user account in Microsoft Entra ID
Why wrong: Should confirm compromise first.
Block the user's sign-in from all locations
Why wrong: Should confirm compromise first.
Answer choices
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
Review the user's risk level and sign-in logs in Microsoft Entra ID Protection
Option B is correct because the first step when investigating a potential account compromise is to review the user's risk level and sign-in logs in Microsoft Entra ID Protection. This allows the analyst to confirm the threat by examining risk detections, sign-in patterns, and contextual details before taking any containment actions. Prematurely resetting passwords or disabling accounts could disrupt legitimate user activity or alert the attacker without a full understanding of the scope.
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.
Reset the user's password immediately
Why it's wrong here
Should confirm compromise first.
Review the user's risk level and sign-in logs in Microsoft Entra ID Protection
Why this is correct
First confirm the compromise by reviewing risk and logs.
Clue confirmation
The clue word "first" in the question point toward this answer.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
Disable the user account in Microsoft Entra ID
Why it's wrong here
Should confirm compromise first.
Block the user's sign-in from all locations
Why it's wrong here
Should confirm compromise first.
Common exam traps
The trap here is that candidates often jump to containment actions like resetting passwords or disabling accounts, but the SC-200 exam emphasizes the 'investigate before remediate' principle, where reviewing risk detections and sign-in logs in Entra ID Protection is the mandatory first step to confirm the threat.
Detailed technical explanation
Microsoft Entra ID Protection uses machine learning models to assign a risk level (low, medium, high) to each user based on real-time sign-in signals and offline detections. The risk history and sign-in logs provide granular details such as IP address, geolocation, device fingerprint, and authentication method, which are essential for distinguishing between a true compromise and a false positive (e.g., a user traveling). Under the hood, the risk detection pipeline evaluates events like anonymous IP addresses, atypical travel, and leaked credentials, and the analyst must correlate these with sign-in logs to decide on the appropriate response, such as requiring a password change via self-service password reset or initiating a user risk policy.
Key takeaway
Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Real-world example
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.
What to study next
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FAQ
Manage a security operations environment — This question tests Manage a security operations environment — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
The correct answer is: Review the user's risk level and sign-in logs in Microsoft Entra ID Protection — Option B is correct because the first step when investigating a potential account compromise is to review the user's risk level and sign-in logs in Microsoft Entra ID Protection. This allows the analyst to confirm the threat by examining risk detections, sign-in patterns, and contextual details before taking any containment actions. Prematurely resetting passwords or disabling accounts could disrupt legitimate user activity or alert the attacker without a full understanding of the scope.
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
Yes — watch for: "first". Order matters here. You are being tested on which action comes before the others — not which action is generally useful.
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
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Last reviewed: Jun 25, 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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