The answer is to enable Defender for Cloud plans at the management group level. This is correct because Defender for Cloud supports policy inheritance through Azure management groups, meaning that enabling a plan—such as Defender for Servers—on a management group automatically applies that enhanced security feature to all current and future subscriptions within that group, eliminating the need for per-subscription configuration. On the SC-200 exam, this scenario tests your understanding of Azure Policy inheritance and how to minimize administrative overhead when securing multiple subscriptions; a common trap is attempting to enable plans individually on each subscription or confusing management group scope with subscription scope. Remember the memory tip: “One group, one enable—future subs, no trouble.”
SC-200 Practice Question: Mitigate threats using Microsoft Defender for Cloud
This SC-200 practice question tests your understanding of mitigate threats using microsoft defender for cloud. This is a configuration task: choose the command set that satisfies every stated requirement. Small differences — like 'secret' vs 'password' or 'transport input ssh' vs 'all' — change whether the answer is correct. 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 company manages multiple Azure subscriptions under a single management group. The security team wants to enable Microsoft Defender for Cloud's enhanced security features (e.g., Defender for Servers) for all subscriptions under that management group with minimal administrative effort. Which method should they use?
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Enable the plans at the management group level
Enabling Microsoft Defender for Cloud's enhanced security features at the management group level applies the plans to all current and future subscriptions under that management group with a single action, minimizing administrative effort. This is the most efficient method because Defender for Cloud supports inheritance of security policies and plans from the management group down to subscriptions, eliminating the need for per-subscription configuration.
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.
✗
Enable the plans individually on each subscription
Why it's wrong here
This requires manual effort per subscription and does not scale well for new subscriptions.
✓
Enable the plans at the management group level
Why this is correct
Correct. Policy and plan assignments at the management group propagate to all child subscriptions.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
✗
Use Azure Blueprints to assign the plans to each subscription
Why it's wrong here
Azure Blueprints can apply policies but is more complex and not the direct method for enabling Defender plans.
✗
Create a custom Azure Policy that enforces the installation of the Log Analytics agent
Why it's wrong here
This only installs the agent, not the full Defender plan. The plans themselves must be enabled separately.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is that candidates may think Azure Blueprints or custom policies are required for bulk enablement, but Defender for Cloud natively supports enabling plans at the management group level, which is the simplest and most direct method.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
Defender for Cloud's pricing and settings are managed via Azure Policy at the management group scope using the 'Microsoft.Security/pricings' resource type, which supports inheritance. When you enable a plan (e.g., Defender for Servers) at the management group, the 'pricing' resource is set to 'Standard' for that scope, and all descendant subscriptions inherit this setting unless explicitly overridden. This is implemented through Azure Policy's 'DeployIfNotExists' effect or direct REST API calls to the 'Pricings' endpoint, ensuring consistent coverage across the entire hierarchy.
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 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.
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 for Cloud — This question tests Mitigate threats using Microsoft Defender for Cloud — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Enable the plans at the management group level — Enabling Microsoft Defender for Cloud's enhanced security features at the management group level applies the plans to all current and future subscriptions under that management group with a single action, minimizing administrative effort. This is the most efficient method because Defender for Cloud supports inheritance of security policies and plans from the management group down to subscriptions, eliminating the need for per-subscription configuration.
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
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These questions test the same concept from different angles. Work through them to make sure you can recognise it however the exam phrases it.
Variation 1. Your organization has multiple Azure subscriptions and wants to ensure that all of them have Microsoft Defender for Cloud's enhanced security features enabled. What is the minimal step required to achieve this for all subscriptions?
easy
A.Assign an Azure Policy initiative to enable Defender for Cloud on each subscription
✓ B.Enable the required Defender for Cloud plans at the management group level
C.Install the Log Analytics agent on all virtual machines in each subscription
D.Create a security contact email for each subscription
Why B: Enabling Microsoft Defender for Cloud plans at the management group level is the minimal step because it applies the configuration to all child subscriptions under that management group in a single action. This leverages Azure's hierarchical management structure, ensuring every subscription inherits the enhanced security features without needing individual subscription-level configuration.
Last reviewed: Jun 11, 2026
Question Discussion
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