- A
DeviceRegistryEvents
Why wrong: DeviceRegistryEvents logs registry changes, not process creation.
- B
DeviceFileEvents
Why wrong: DeviceFileEvents logs file creation/modification, not the process initiating encryption.
- C
DeviceNetworkEvents
Why wrong: DeviceNetworkEvents logs network connections, not process initiation.
- D
DeviceProcessEvents
DeviceProcessEvents logs process creation, essential for tracking the initial process.
Question 184 of 1,639
Tracing Ransomware with DeviceProcessEvents in Advanced Hunting
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.
Your organization uses Microsoft Defender XDR. You need to investigate a potential ransomware incident that has affected multiple devices. The security team wants to identify the initial access vector. Which advanced hunting table should you query to find the process that initiated the encryption?
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
✓
DeviceProcessEvents
DeviceProcessEvents logs process creation events, including the command line and parent process details. To identify the initial access vector in a ransomware incident, you need to trace the process tree back to the executable that launched the encryption process, which is precisely what this table captures.
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.
- ✗
DeviceRegistryEvents
Why it's wrong here
DeviceRegistryEvents logs registry changes, not process creation.
- ✗
DeviceFileEvents
Why it's wrong here
DeviceFileEvents logs file creation/modification, not the process initiating encryption.
- ✗
DeviceNetworkEvents
Why it's wrong here
DeviceNetworkEvents logs network connections, not process initiation.
- ✓
DeviceProcessEvents
Why this is correct
DeviceProcessEvents logs process creation, essential for tracking the initial 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 confuse the artifact of encryption (file changes in DeviceFileEvents) with the action that caused it (process creation in DeviceProcessEvents), leading them to choose DeviceFileEvents instead of the correct table for tracing the initial access vector.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
Under the hood, DeviceProcessEvents uses the ETW (Event Tracing for Windows) provider Microsoft-Windows-Kernel-Process to capture process creation events with fields like InitiatingProcessFileName, InitiatingProcessCommandLine, and ProcessId. In a ransomware scenario, the encryption process is often launched by a dropper or script (e.g., PowerShell, WMI), and querying this table with a join on parent process IDs reveals the full attack chain from initial access to encryption.
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
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FAQ
Questions learners often ask
What does this SC-200 question test?
Manage a security operations environment — This question tests Manage a security operations environment — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: DeviceProcessEvents — DeviceProcessEvents logs process creation events, including the command line and parent process details. To identify the initial access vector in a ransomware incident, you need to trace the process tree back to the executable that launched the encryption process, which is precisely what this table captures.
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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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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