SC-200 Mitigate threats using Microsoft Defender XDR Practice Question
This SC-200 practice question tests your understanding of mitigate threats using microsoft defender xdr. 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.
An analyst is using advanced hunting in Microsoft 365 Defender. A device made outbound RDP connections shortly after a suspicious PowerShell process started. Which join is most useful to identify the initiating process for those network connections?
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Join DeviceNetworkEvents with DeviceProcessEvents by device and process identifiers/time window
Option D is correct because it joins DeviceNetworkEvents (which contain outbound RDP connection details) with DeviceProcessEvents (which contain process creation data like the suspicious PowerShell process) using device ID, process ID, and a time window. This join allows the analyst to directly correlate the network connection to the initiating process, identifying whether the PowerShell process spawned the RDP connection.
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.
✗
Join EmailEvents with UrlClickEvents
Why it's wrong here
Email and URL click data do not identify the endpoint process that initiated RDP.
✗
Join IdentityInfo with SecureScoreControls
Why it's wrong here
Identity inventory and secure score controls are not endpoint process telemetry.
✗
Join CloudAppEvents with AlertEvidence only
Why it's wrong here
Cloud app activity and alert evidence may help context but do not directly map network connections to local process creation.
✓
Join DeviceNetworkEvents with DeviceProcessEvents by device and process identifiers/time window
Why this is correct
DeviceNetworkEvents records network connections, while DeviceProcessEvents records process creation details needed to identify the initiating process.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is that candidates may choose a join involving cloud or email tables (A, B, C) because they focus on the 'suspicious PowerShell' aspect, forgetting that the question specifically asks for the initiating process of network connections, which requires device-level process and network event correlation.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
In advanced hunting, DeviceNetworkEvents captures network connections with fields like RemoteIP, RemotePort, and LocalProcessId, while DeviceProcessEvents captures process creation with ProcessId and ParentProcessId. By joining on DeviceId and ProcessId within a short time window (e.g., 1 minute), you can trace the exact process tree, such as a PowerShell.exe spawning mstsc.exe or initiating an RDP connection via WinRM. This is critical for detecting lateral movement where an attacker uses PowerShell to launch RDP connections to other hosts.
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.
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 XDR — This question tests Mitigate threats using Microsoft Defender XDR — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Join DeviceNetworkEvents with DeviceProcessEvents by device and process identifiers/time window — Option D is correct because it joins DeviceNetworkEvents (which contain outbound RDP connection details) with DeviceProcessEvents (which contain process creation data like the suspicious PowerShell process) using device ID, process ID, and a time window. This join allows the analyst to directly correlate the network connection to the initiating process, identifying whether the PowerShell process spawned the RDP connection.
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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