- A
Microsoft Defender for Office 365 Explorer.
Why wrong: Explorer is for email threats only.
- B
Microsoft Defender for Cloud Apps activity log.
Why wrong: Activity log covers cloud apps, not endpoints.
- C
Advanced hunting in Microsoft Defender XDR.
Advanced hunting can query across all domains.
- D
Microsoft Sentinel incident workspace.
Why wrong: Sentinel is a different platform; Defender XDR has its own hunting.
SC-200 Respond to security incidents Practice Question
This SC-200 practice question tests your understanding of respond to security incidents. 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.
Your organization uses Microsoft Defender XDR. The incident queue shows multiple alerts related to a single endpoint: malware detected, suspicious PowerShell execution, and data exfiltration attempts. The analyst needs to investigate the incident. Which tool should the analyst use to correlate these events?
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
Advanced hunting in Microsoft Defender XDR.
Option C is correct because Advanced hunting in Microsoft Defender XDR allows the analyst to query across multiple data sources—including endpoint detection and response (EDR), identity, email, and cloud app data—using Kusto Query Language (KQL). This enables correlation of the malware detection, suspicious PowerShell execution, and data exfiltration alerts on the same device by joining tables such as DeviceEvents, DeviceProcessEvents, and DeviceNetworkEvents, providing a unified timeline of the attack chain.
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.
- ✗
Microsoft Defender for Office 365 Explorer.
Why it's wrong here
Explorer is for email threats only.
- ✗
Microsoft Defender for Cloud Apps activity log.
Why it's wrong here
Activity log covers cloud apps, not endpoints.
- ✓
Advanced hunting in Microsoft Defender XDR.
Why this is correct
Advanced hunting can query across all domains.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
- ✗
Microsoft Sentinel incident workspace.
Why it's wrong here
Sentinel is a different platform; Defender XDR has its own hunting.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is that candidates often confuse the purpose of Advanced hunting (a cross-domain query engine) with Microsoft Sentinel’s incident workspace (a SIEM incident management interface), leading them to choose Option D because they think a SIEM is always the best correlation tool, even though the question specifically asks for correlation within Defender XDR.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
Under the hood, Advanced hunting uses a schema of over 30 tables, including DeviceEvents (for security alerts), DeviceProcessEvents (for process creation), and DeviceNetworkEvents (for network connections). A real-world scenario might involve a KQL query that joins DeviceProcessEvents for PowerShell execution with DeviceNetworkEvents for outbound connections to a known C2 IP, and then cross-references DeviceEvents for the malware detection alert, all within a single query using the DeviceId as the join key. This allows the analyst to confirm that the same process spawned the malware and initiated the exfiltration.
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.
What to study next
Got this wrong? Here's your next step.
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
- →
Respond to security incidents — study guide chapter
Learn the concepts, then practise the questions
- →
Respond to security incidents practice questions
Targeted practice on this topic area only
- →
All SC-200 questions
1,639 questions across all exam domains
- →
Microsoft Security Operations Analyst SC-200 study guide
Full concept coverage aligned to exam objectives
- →
SC-200 practice test guide
How to use practice tests most effectively before exam day
Related practice questions
Related SC-200 practice-question pages
Use these pages to review the topic behind this question. This is how one missed question becomes focused revision.
Manage a security operations environment practice questions
Practise SC-200 questions linked to Manage a security operations environment.
Respond to security incidents practice questions
Practise SC-200 questions linked to Respond to security incidents.
Perform threat hunting practice questions
Practise SC-200 questions linked to Perform threat hunting.
Mitigate threats using Microsoft Defender XDR practice questions
Practise SC-200 questions linked to Mitigate threats using Microsoft Defender XDR.
Mitigate threats using Microsoft Defender for Cloud practice questions
Practise SC-200 questions linked to Mitigate threats using Microsoft Defender for Cloud.
Mitigate threats using Microsoft Sentinel practice questions
Practise SC-200 questions linked to Mitigate threats using Microsoft Sentinel.
SC-200 fundamentals practice questions
Practise SC-200 questions linked to SC-200 fundamentals.
SC-200 scenario practice questions
Practise SC-200 questions linked to SC-200 scenario.
SC-200 troubleshooting practice questions
Practise SC-200 questions linked to SC-200 troubleshooting.
Practice this exam
Start a free SC-200 practice session
Short sessions build daily habit. Longer sessions build exam-day stamina. Try a timed session to simulate real conditions.
FAQ
Questions learners often ask
What does this SC-200 question test?
Respond to security incidents — This question tests Respond to security incidents — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Advanced hunting in Microsoft Defender XDR. — Option C is correct because Advanced hunting in Microsoft Defender XDR allows the analyst to query across multiple data sources—including endpoint detection and response (EDR), identity, email, and cloud app data—using Kusto Query Language (KQL). This enables correlation of the malware detection, suspicious PowerShell execution, and data exfiltration alerts on the same device by joining tables such as DeviceEvents, DeviceProcessEvents, and DeviceNetworkEvents, providing a unified timeline of the attack chain.
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.
About these practice questions
Courseiva creates original exam-style practice questions with explanations and wrong-answer analysis. It does not publish real exam questions, exam dumps, or protected exam content. Learn why practice questions differ from exam dumps →
Keep practising
More SC-200 practice questions
- Which TWO are valid sources of evidence in a Microsoft Sentinel incident? (Choose two.)
- An organization uses Microsoft 365 Defender. During an incident, the analyst wants to automatically isolate a compromise…
- Which THREE steps are part of the incident response process when using Microsoft Sentinel?
- Refer to the exhibit. You are reviewing a Microsoft Sentinel scheduled analytics rule configured as above. An incident w…
- A security analyst is preparing to use a Jupyter notebook for threat hunting in Microsoft Sentinel. Which of the followi…
- You are investigating a ransomware incident in Microsoft Sentinel. The incident contains multiple alerts. You need to gr…
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.
Question Discussion
Share a tip, memory trick, or ask about the reasoning behind this question. Do not post real exam questions, leaked content, braindumps, or copyrighted exam material. Comments are moderated and may be removed without notice.
Sign in to join the discussion.